''Clarkia tembloriensis'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family, known by the common name Temblor Range clarkia and belonging to the Onagraceae family.

Description

''Clarkia tembloriensis'' is an erect annual herb exceeding in maximum height. The lance-shaped leaves are gray-green in color and waxy, reaching 7 centimeters long. The inflorescence has open flowers and hanging closed buds. The fuzzy greenish sepals stay fused together as the petals bloom from one side. The herbage may be tinted with red. The flower petals have diamond-shaped blades at the end of long claws. They are pinkish-lavender, sometimes with a large purple spot near the base. There are 8

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, some with large red or purple anthers and some with smaller, paler anthers.

Subspecies

Hybrids between subspecies have low fertility. The two current subspecies are: * ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' ssp. ''calientensis'' — Vasek's clarkia — found at only three sites near Caliente Creek in the Caliente Hills, at ~ in an ecotone of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

foothills and San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County. Calflora Database: ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' ssp. ''calientensis''] This subspecies was originally described as a distinct species named ''Clarkia calientensis'', and analyses suggests it could be returned to species status.CSU Stanislaus Endangered Species Recovery Profile
/ref> The most rare of the subspecies, it is considered vulnerable to extinction with such small populations located on privately owned land. The sites are part of the Tejon Ranch, and managed by the Tejon Ranch Conservancy. * ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' ssp. ''tembloriensis'' (syn: ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' subsp. ''longistyla'') — Temblor Range clarkia — distribution along the western San Joaquin Valley into the eastern Inner South California Coast Ranges, from the Diablo Range to the Temblor Range and

Carrizo Plain The Carrizo Plain ( Obispeño: ''tšɨłkukunɨtš'', "Place of the rabbits") is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately long and up to across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, about northwest of Los Angeles. It con ...

areas.

Distribution and habitat

The wildflower is endemic to California, where it is native to the San Joaquin Valley, and into the adjacent Inner South California Coast Ranges on its west, including the namesake Temblor Range, and occasionally into the

foothills on its southeast. It is found in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

scrub and grassland habitats, at in elevation.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' (Temblor Range clarkia)Jepson Manual (TJM93) Profile of ''Clarkia tembloriensis''UC Photos gallery: ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' ssp. ''calientensis''UC Photos gallery: ''Clarkia tembloriensis'' ssp. ''tembloriensis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5127565 tembloriensis Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of Kern County, California ~ Temblor Range Plants described in 1964