s_pike's Identifications

Winecup Carkia have just recently started to pop up in many plant communities.

Winecup Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea) Native, annual Clarkia in the (Onagraceae) Evening Primrose family. Stems are erect with varying heights, up to 1 m (40") tall. Leaves are linear to lanceolate with acute tips, and glabrous or densely puberulent. Fruits are erect. Flowers have 4 petals, 8 stamens, and are variable in both color and appearance, ranging from pure deep maroon to pale pink to almost lavender. There are several subspecies. Peak bloom time: May-June. Indigenous people of California sowed the seeds of the plant, to later harvest the seeds to grind for food and medicines. 4 traditional uses are described here:

Native American Ethnobotany: A database of plants used as drugs, foods, dyes, fibers, and more by native Peoples of North America http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Clarkia+purpurea

Calflora lists 3 ssp. in CA: ttps://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=2206

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 215-217.

Winecup Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea)
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=19592

Four-spot (Clarkia purpurea subsp. quadrivulnera) "Petals +- 10 mm, lavender to purple or dark wine-red, often with a purple spot near middle or tip."
Jepson eflora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=49907

"Widespead in Fort Ord National Monument."
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 152.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 101.

Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees & Ferns https://montereywildflowers.com/onagraceae-clarkia/