Whitney’s clarkia

Oenothera whitneyi A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 340, 400. 1868; Godetia whitneyi (A. Gray) T. Moore

Stems decumbent, to 100 cm.Inflorescences congested ra­cemes; bracts lanceolate; inter­nodes shorter than subtending flowers. Flowers: petals with bright red spot mid blade, 30–60 mm; ovary broadly fusiform, 8–12 mm wide, 8-grooved, 4 deeper; stigma exserted beyond anthers. 2n = 14.

Flowering Jul–Aug. Coastal scrub; of conservation concern; 0–100 m; Calif.

Subspecies whitneyi is common in cultivation, mostly as hybrid derivatives with other subspecies, but is scarce in the wild, found only rarely along the coast in Humboldt and Mendocino counties; it is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society.