- Clarkia tembloriensis
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Clarkia tembloriensis Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Myrtales Family: Onagraceae Genus: Clarkia Species: C. tembloriensis Binomial name Clarkia tembloriensis
VasekClarkia tembloriensis is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Temblor Range clarkia.
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Distribution
It is endemic to California, where it is found in the southern San Joaquin Valley and adjacent ranges to the east and west, including the Temblor Range.
Description
This species is an erect annual herb exceeding half a meter 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 stamens, some with large red or purple anthers and some with smaller, paler anthers.
Subspecies
It is made up of two subspecies. The more rare of the two, Vasek's clarkia, Clarkia tembloriensis ssp. calientensis, is found at only three sites near Caliente Creek in the Caliente Hills of central Kern County where the Central Valley becomes the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.[1] This subspecies was originally described as a species named Clarkia calientensis, and analyses suggest that it should probably be returned to species status.[2]
Conservation
The rarer subspecies calientensis is considered quite vulnerable to extinction in part because it is already so rare and in part because all of the known populations are unprotected on privately owned land, including some land owned by Tejon Ranch.[2]
References
External links
Categories:- Clarkia
- Endemic flora of California
- Flora of the Sierra Nevada region (U.S.)
- Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
- Plants described in 1964
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