Clarkia purpurea
Purple clarkia
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Onagraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Clarkia purpurea (Purple clarkia) is a native California herb in the Onagraceae family.
Purple clarkia is a California native annual found in various bioregions in grasslands, oak woodlands, and chaparral at elevations from near sea level to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces lavender, pale pink to dark wine-red flowers with fan-shaped petals often featuring a distinctive red or purple spot near the center. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with stems that are decumbent to erect and glabrous or lightly hairy, it has a delicate, branching form. Its leaves are linear to narrowly oblanceolate, measuring 1.5 to 7 centimeters long, with minimal or no petiole. The fruit is a slender capsule 1 to 3 centimeters in length, producing multiple seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 0 sympatric species; geographically isolated but subspecies exist with extensive overlaps
Habitat and range
California counties: Contra Costa, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Kern, Santa Cruz, Lake, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, Riverside, San Benito, Monterey, Madera, Solano, Tuolumne, Nevada, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, El Dorado, Colusa, Mariposa, Fresno, Amador, Sonoma, Placer, Butte, Tehama, Alameda, Mendocino, Plumas, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Marin, Humboldt, San Mateo, Trinity, Calaveras, Napa, Yolo, Yuba, Tulare, Stanislaus, Santa Clara
How to tell it apart
vs Epilobium: Clarkia seeds lack a hair tuft and its petals are broad, often clawed or lobed; Epilobium and Chamerion have seeds bearing a tuft of silky hairs and long, thin capsules.; vs Oenothera: Clarkia flowers are pink to lavender-purple and its buds nod before opening; Oenothera flowers are generally yellow (or white), larger, and open at dusk.; vs Camissonia: Clarkia petals are pink-purple, often fan-shaped or lobed with a distinct claw; Camissonia and Camissoniopsis have yellow, unlobed petals.; vs Sidalcea: Clarkia has 4 petals, an inferior ovary, and a 4-lobed stigma; Sidalcea (checkerbloom) has 5 petals, a superior ovary, and a central mallow staminal column.; vs Gayophytum: Clarkia is showy with petals 10-35 mm; Gayophytum has minute white-to-pink flowers only a few mm across on thread-like branches.
Frequently asked questions
Is Clarkia purpurea native to California?
Yes. Clarkia purpurea is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Clarkia purpurea grow?
Clarkia purpurea occurs in Contra Costa, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Kern, Santa Cruz, Lake, Los Angeles, Orange and other counties.
What plant family does Clarkia purpurea belong to?
Clarkia purpurea is in the Onagraceae family, genus Clarkia.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.