Clarkia gracilis subsp. gracilis

Family: Onagraceae · Type: annual · Native

Slender clarkia is a California native annual found in northwestern California, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and Modoc Plateau in woodland openings and forest margins at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces delicate pink to lavender flowers with petals 6 to 23 millimeters long, often featuring a darker base. Growing with slender, upright stems typically 20 to 50 centimeters tall, it has a delicate and graceful appearance. Its leaves are narrow and elongated, arranged alternately along the stem, providing a subtle backdrop to the elegant flower display. The plant completes its lifecycle quickly in open woodland environments, creating brief but beautiful displays during the spring and early summer months.

Habitat: Common. Openings in woodland, forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NW, n SNF, ScV, SnFrB, MP

California counties: Napa, Butte, Tehama, Trinity, Siskiyou, Modoc, Marin, El Dorado, Yolo, Alameda, Lake, Colusa, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Mendocino, Yuba, Humboldt, Sutter, Placer, Shasta, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Lassen, Nevada, Sierra, Tuolumne, Plumas, Glenn, San Luis Obispo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.