Winecup Clarkia

Clarkia purpurea

This plant is native to western North America where it is found in a variety of habitats. Within California it is very widespread, occurring all along the coast, in the Coast Ranges, Central Valley and Sierra foothills. There are three subspecies with differences in the flower color and with overlapping ranges. This plant erects a thin reddish stem which may approach a meter in height and has a few lance-shaped leaves. The bowl-shaped flowers have four petals usually one to two centimeters long and in shades of pink, purple, or deep wine red, often with a streak or spot of pink or red in the middle. In the garden it is almost always grown from seed and is included in many commercially available wildflower seed mixes.