Practical
Plants

Clarkia pulchella

an annual member of the Clarkia genus in the family Onagraceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Clarkia
Life cycle
annual
Height
0.45 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - ground into a powder and eaten dry[7]. Very small and fiddly to harvest.

Plant part
Seed

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Green and gold dyes are obtained from the flowers[3].

Product or use
Dye

Environment

Range
Western N. America - British Columbia to Oregon, east to S. Dakota.
Habitat
Moderately dry sites, often where the soil is disturbed, from valleys and foothills to 1,800 metres in the mountains[6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in situ. The seed usually germinates in 2 weeks[1]. Seed can also be sown in situ during the autumn in mild winter areas[1][5]. Thinnings can be transplanted[1].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in a sunny position in any good garden soil[1]. If the soil is too rich the plants will produce lots of vegetative growth at the expense of flowers[4]. Resents hot, humid continental summers[5]. A polymorphic species[5]. A very ornamental plant[1]. The flowers are very attractive to bees[2].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  2. International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981-00-00

    ↩

  3. Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8

    ↩

  4. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

    ↩

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  6. Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963-00-00 ISBN 63-7093

    ↩

  7. Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962-00-00 ISBN 0-911010-54-8

    ↩

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