Scientific Name

Clarkia bottae

Full Sun

Part Sun

Part Shade

Low

Moderate

Max. Height × Width

1 foot × 6 inches

More information

calscape.org

Price & Availability

Seed package

$5

Not available

Clarkia bottae (Punch Bowl Godetia) has an elegant and understated flower that makes the more commonly encountered Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), with its saturated, lipstick colors, look like it’s trying a little too hard.

One of our truly local wildflowers, the pale, pinkish-lavender blossoms of Clarkia bottae can be found in grassy openings in chaparral and in the dappled, canyon shade of Coast Live Oaks. We’ve even seen small patches of it along the road in urban areas, pushing up through a thick tangle of weeds.

The pale, paper-thin petals respond to even the faintest breeze, creating a rippling effect that recalls (well, to us, anyway) the diaphanous tulle skirts of an early Romantic corps-de-ballet. Punch Bowl Godetia is also one of the few wildflowers that doesn’t mind part-shade (although it will take full sun), adding to its versatility in the garden, and you can let it go to seed for an ever-growing number of flowers each year.

Clarkia bottae tends to bloom later in the season, providing a wistful coda to the end of spring.

Drawing of plant with berries

Bitter Gooseberry

Ribes amarum

flowers

Blue Dicks

Dipterostemon (Dichelostemma) capitatus

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Blue Elderberry

Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea

Blue Wildrye

Elymus glaucus

Branching Phacelia

Phacelia ramosissima

Brickell Bush

Brickellia californica

California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia

California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia

Drawing of plant

California Four O’Clock

Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia

California Fuchsia

Epilobium canum ssp. canum

California Prickly Phlox

Linanthus californicus

Drawing of plant

Canyon Dudleya

Dudleya cymosa

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Cardinal Catchfly

Silene laciniata

Caterpillar Phacelia

Phacelia cicutaria

Drawing of plant with acorn

Coast Live Oak

Quercus agrifolia

Coast Prickly Pear

Opuntia littoralis

Illustration of plant in planter

Coffeeberry

Frangula californica

Drawing of plant

Fiesta Flower

Pholistoma auritum

Drawing of plant with handing flowers

Fuchsiaflower Gooseberry

Ribes speciosum

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Hollyleaf Redberry

Rhamnus ilicifolia

Longstem Buckwheat

Eriogonum elongatum

Drawing of plant with feathery flowers

Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides

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Poison Oak

Toxicodendron diversilobum

Rooreh

Claytonia perfoliata

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Round Leafed Boykinia

Boykinia rotundifolia

Sacred Datura

Datura wrightii

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Santa Barbara Honeysuckle

Lonicera subspicata var. denudata

Illustration of plant in planter

Saw-Toothed Goldenbush

Hazardia squarrosa var. grindelioides

Drawing of plant

Scarlet Larkspur

Delphinium cardinale

Silver Puffs

Uropappus lindleyi

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Soap Plant

Chloroglaum pomeridianum

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Southern Bush Monkeyflower

Diplacus longiflorus

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Southern California Black Walnut

Juglans californica

Drawing of plant with spotted flowers

Spotted Humboldt’s Lily

Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Threadleaf Ragwort

Senecio flaccidus

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Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia

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Western Columbine

Aquilegia formosa

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Western Wallflower

Erysimum capitatum

Wild Heliotrope