Carried by 6 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Clarkia purpurea is a species of wildflower in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known by the common names Winecup Clarkia, Winecup Fairyfan, and Purple Clarkia. 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.
Annual herb
3 ft Tall
1 ft Wide
Lavender, Pink, Purple, Red
Spring, Summer
Full Sun
Low
Max 2x / month once established
Moderate
Tolerates cold to 5° F
Fast, Medium, Slow
Adaptable.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.5
From seed
Open, grassy or shrubby places
Chaparral, Coastal Strand, Foothill Woodland, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Coastal Scrub, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest
Use with other annuals or perennial herbs such as California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Lupine (Lupinus spp.), and Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa).
Butterflies and moths supported
0 confirmed and 5 likely
Mariposa Forester
Alypia mariposa
White-lined Sphinx
Hyles lineata
Clark's Day Sphinx Moth
Proserpinus clarkiae