These two are not on this page because a keyword tool suggested them. They are here because our own identification model genuinely mistook one for the other, on real photographs, 4 times. We publish the rate, and then we tell you what actually separates them.
| When the plant was | The model said | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Calochortus splendens | Clarkia rubicunda | 4 of 20 (20%) |
The confusion runs one way only. The model mistakes Calochortus splendens for Clarkia rubicunda, but not the reverse.
Measured on 38,949 openly licensed, research-grade photographs. Full method and dataset.
| Family | Liliaceae versus Onagraceae. Different families, which is a real separation. |
|---|---|
| Genus | Calochortus versus Clarkia. |
| Flowering | Peaks in February versus April. If the plant is in flower, timing helps. (n = 2,118 and 1,655.) |
What we do not have yet: the diagnostic morphological character that a botanist would key on, from a source we can cite. We are not going to invent one. Until we have it, this page tells you the two are genuinely confusable, how often, and what the taxonomy and the flowering data do and do not settle.