Flowers named after famous adventurer grow in Shasta County

Lewis and Clark first encountered a clarkia (Clarkia pulchella, deerhorn clarkia) in what is now Idaho in May 1806. The genus was later named after William Clark. Clarkias are in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae) and are characterized by attractive pink to red flowers that tend to bloom in late spring and early summer, leading to one of their common names, farewell to spring.

California is the center of distribution for the genus. Of the 66 taxa (41 species and 25 subspecies) of clarkia in the world, all except seven are found in California. Of those seven, three, including the deerhorn clarkia, are found in northwestern United States, and one species with four subspecies is found in South America, in Chile.

Thirteen taxa of clarkias have been collected in Shasta County. Of these, six are relatively common and have been found at multiple locations in the county. Three others have been found at two or three locations, and four have been found at only one location in the county. The six most common Shasta County clarkias are:

Wine cup clarkia (Clarkia purpurea ssp. quadrivulnera), also called four-spot clarkia, with its small bowl-shaped flower, has the widest distribution of all clarkia species and is found from southern British Columbia in Canada south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It has been collected at nine locations in the northeastern and southwestern portions of Shasta County and can be found in roadsides and fields in valleys and foothills throughout the county.

Diamond clarkia (Clarkia rhomboidea), a rotate-flowered (i.e., flat, circular, and disc-shaped; also called saucer-shaped) clarkia, is also a widespread species and is found in the mountains in the middle-elevation range from southern British Columbia south to northern Baja California. It is found in numerous locations in Shasta County.

Slender clarkia (Clarkia gracilis ssp. gracilis), a bowl-shaped flower, is less widespread and is found from central Washington south to the south Bay Area in Santa Clara County. This taxon has been found at a number of locations throughout Shasta County, generally in the foothills and lower mountain valleys.

Lassen clarkia (Clarkia lassenensis), another bowl-shaped flower, is found from southeastern Oregon south to northern Mendocino, northern Glenn, southern Tehama, and Sierra counties. In Shasta County, it has been found at a number of locations, primarily in the eastern half of the county, often in sagebrush associations.

Northern clarkia (Clarkia borealis ssp. borealis), a rotate-flowered clarkia, is a Shasta County specialty and is nearly endemic to the county. It is found at mid-elevation in drainages upstream from Shasta and Whiskeytown lakes.

clarkia (Clarkia borealis ssp. arida) is rotate flowered and is endemic to the foothill regions of southeastern and northeastern Tehama counties. It has a very small range and is only known from five locations: three in Shasta County and two in Tehama County. It is a larger plant than its close relative, the northern clarkia.

The less common clarkia in Shasta County include:

Red ribbons (Clarkia concinna ssp. concinna), a distinctive rotate-flowered clarkia, has been found at two locations in the southwestern corner of Shasta County. Our county is at the northern edge of the species range, which extends south in the Coast Range to Alameda County. It may be more common in Shasta County than records indicate and should be looked for in the area between Igo and Platina.

Lake Almanor clarkia (Clarkia stellata), a small rotate-flowered clarkia, has been found at three locations in the southeastern portion of Shasta County. It tends to be found in openings in coniferous forests and may be more common than the records indicate.

Wine cup clarkia (Clarkia purpurea ssp. viminea), also called large-flowered wine cup clarkia, is a bowl-shaped flower that has been found at three locations between Highway 299E and Shasta Lake. It is found in southwestern California, throughout the coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada, and farther north in the valleys of western Oregon and Washington.

Glandular clarkia (Clarkia arcuata) is a bowl-shaped flower of the northern Sierra Nevada. There is a small population in Burney Falls State Park that is 60 miles from the next population to the south in southeastern Tehama County.

Three taxa — fairwell to spring (Clarkia amoena ssp. huntiana), Whitney’s clarkia (Clarkia amoena ssp. whitneyi), and wine cup or densely-flowered clarkia (Clarkia purpurea ssp. purpurea) — have all been collected on one occasion near Highway 299E in the vicinity of Ingot and Montgomery Creek. They are all well out of their normal range and are not to be expected in Shasta County.

Native Plants runs the first Saturday of the month in the Home & Garden Section. Articles are provided by members of the Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Visit www.shastacnps.org.