Burke: Calochortus elegans

	Calochortus elegans
	elegant cats-ear, northwestern mariposa lily, elegant sego lily
Habit	Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the slender stem 5-15 cm. tall.
Leaves	The one leaf flat, 2-10 mm. broad and 5-15 cm. long, tapered at both ends, greatly exceeding the stem in length.
Flowers	Flowers few, greenish-white, with a purple crescent on each petal above the gland, the sepal with a similar blotch, on slender pedicels that become deflexed in fruit; sepals 3, shorter than the petals, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous; petals 3, broadly oblanceolate, clawed, fringed laterally and bearded above the gland; gland surface naked, but fringed above and below; stamens 6, in 2 series; style short, stigma trifid, persistent.
Fruits	Capsule elliptic, 3-winged, nodding.

	Calochortus elegans
Flowering time	May-June
Habitat	Grassy hillsides and open coniferous forests, middle to high elvations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to Oregon and northern California, east to Idaho and Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. apiculatus, C. eurycarpus, C. longebarbatus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. nitidus, C. subalpinus
Subordinate taxa	C. elegans var. elegans
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Calochortus elegans

elegant cats-ear, northwestern mariposa lily, elegant sego lily

Habit

Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the slender stem 5-15 cm. tall.

Leaves

The one leaf flat, 2-10 mm. broad and 5-15 cm. long, tapered at both ends, greatly exceeding the stem in length.

Flowers

Flowers few, greenish-white, with a purple crescent on each petal above the gland, the sepal with a similar blotch, on slender pedicels that become deflexed in fruit;

sepals 3, shorter than the petals, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous;

petals 3, broadly oblanceolate, clawed, fringed laterally and bearded above the gland;

gland surface naked, but fringed above and below;

stamens 6, in 2 series;

style short, stigma trifid, persistent.

Fruits

Capsule elliptic, 3-winged, nodding.