Burke: Calochortus eurycarpus vs. Calochortus nitidus

	Calochortus eurycarpus	Calochortus nitidus
	big-pod mariposa lily, wide-fruited mariposa lily	broad-fruited mariposa lily
Habit	Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the stem erect, 1-5 dm. tall.	Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the stem erect, 2-4 dm. tall.
Leaves	Basal leaf flat, 1-3 dm. long and 5-25 mm. broad, exceeded by the inflorescence; single, bract-like cauline leaf about mid-stem.	Basal leaf flat, 1-3 dm. long and 10-25 mm. broad, becoming involute, not exceeding the inflorescence; single reduced cauline leaf about mid-stem.
Flowers	Umbel 1-5 flowered, the flowers creamy white to lavender, with a conspicuous red-purple blotch in the middle of each petal; sepals 3, broadly lanceolate, much shorter than the petals; petals 3, obovate, wedge-shaped; gland triangular, bordered below with a narrow, fringed membrane and above with a narrower membrane with rounded teeth, the enclosed surface densely covered with long, yellowish processes; stamens 6, in 2 series; style short, stigma trifid, persistent.	Umbel 1-4 flowered; flowers large, erect, purplish, with a deep purple crescent on each petal above the gland; sepals 3, shorter than the petals, ovate to lanceolate, pointed, glabrous; petals 3, obovate or oblanceolate, wedge-shaped at the base, gland lunate, covered with short, thick processes and banded below with a fringed membrane; stamens 6, style short, stigma trifid, persistent.
Fruits	Capsule 3-winged, elliptic-oblong, erect.	Capsule broadly elliptic, erect, 3-winged.

	Calochortus eurycarpus	Calochortus nitidus
Flowering time	June-August	June-July
Habitat	Grasslands and open coniferous forests at moderate elevations.	Meadows at low elevation.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; southeastern Washington to eastern Oregon, east to Montana and Wyoming. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring in Whitman County in Washington; Washington to adjacent areas of Idaho and northeast Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)	Endangered in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	C. apiculatus, C. elegans, C. longebarbatus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. nitidus, C. subalpinus	C. apiculatus, C. elegans, C. eurycarpus, C. longebarbatus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. subalpinus
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: 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	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Calochortus eurycarpus

Calochortus nitidus

big-pod mariposa lily, wide-fruited mariposa lily

broad-fruited mariposa lily

Habit

Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the stem erect, 1-5 dm. tall.

Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the stem erect, 2-4 dm. tall.

Leaves

Basal leaf flat, 1-3 dm. long and 5-25 mm. broad, exceeded by the inflorescence; single, bract-like cauline leaf about mid-stem.

Basal leaf flat, 1-3 dm. long and 10-25 mm. broad, becoming involute, not exceeding the inflorescence; single reduced cauline leaf about mid-stem.

Flowers

Umbel 1-5 flowered, the flowers creamy white to lavender, with a conspicuous red-purple blotch in the middle of each petal;

sepals 3, broadly lanceolate, much shorter than the petals;

petals 3, obovate, wedge-shaped;

gland triangular, bordered below with a narrow, fringed membrane and above with a narrower membrane with rounded teeth, the enclosed surface densely covered with long, yellowish processes;

stamens 6, in 2 series;

style short, stigma trifid, persistent.

Umbel 1-4 flowered;

flowers large, erect, purplish, with a deep purple crescent on each petal above the gland;

sepals 3, shorter than the petals, ovate to lanceolate, pointed, glabrous;

petals 3, obovate or oblanceolate, wedge-shaped at the base, gland lunate, covered with short, thick processes and banded below with a fringed membrane;

stamens 6, style short, stigma trifid, persistent.

Fruits

Capsule 3-winged, elliptic-oblong, erect.

Capsule broadly elliptic, erect, 3-winged.