Burke: Calochortus lyallii vs. Calochortus elegans

	Calochortus lyallii	Calochortus elegans
	Lyall's mariposa-lily	elegant cats-ear, northwestern mariposa lily, elegant sego lily
Habit	Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the stem erect, 1-5 dm. tall.	Perennial herb from a deep-seated bulb, the slender stem 5-15 cm. tall.
Leaves	Basal leaf flat, 1-2 dm. long and 2-20 mm. broad, not exceeding the inflorescence; a single bract-like cauline leaf about mid-stem.	The one leaf flat, 2-10 mm. broad and 5-15 cm. long, tapered at both ends, greatly exceeding the stem in length.
Flowers	Umbel 1-4 flowered; flowers white or purplish tinged, with a purple crescent on each petal above the gland and a similar spot on each sepal; pedicels slender, erect or spreading; sepals 3, about equal to the petals, lanceolate, glabrous; petals 3, ovate to lanceolate, pointed, abruptly contracted at the base to a short claw, conspicuously fringed with long, slender hairs; gland transverse, arched upward, bordered above with a fringed membrane and below with a narrower membrane, the enclosed surface covered with thick processes; stamens 6, style short, stigma trifid, persistent.	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, erect.	Capsule elliptic, 3-winged, nodding.

	Calochortus lyallii	Calochortus elegans
Flowering time	May-July	May-June
Habitat	Dry, open coniferous forests at moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.	Grassy hillsides and open coniferous forests, middle to high elvations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in central Washington; British Columbia south along the east slope of the Cascades to south-central Washington. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	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	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. apiculatus, C. elegans, C. eurycarpus, C. longebarbatus, C. macrocarpus, C. nitidus, C. subalpinus	C. apiculatus, C. eurycarpus, C. longebarbatus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. nitidus, C. subalpinus
Subordinate taxa		C. elegans var. elegans
Web links	Local floras: BC, 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: 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 lyallii

Calochortus elegans

Lyall's mariposa-lily

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

Habit

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

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

Leaves

Basal leaf flat, 1-2 dm. long and 2-20 mm. broad, not exceeding the inflorescence; a single bract-like cauline leaf about mid-stem.

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

Flowers

Umbel 1-4 flowered;

flowers white or purplish tinged, with a purple crescent on each petal above the gland and a similar spot on each sepal;

pedicels slender, erect or spreading;

sepals 3, about equal to the petals, lanceolate, glabrous;

petals 3, ovate to lanceolate, pointed, abruptly contracted at the base to a short claw, conspicuously fringed with long, slender hairs;

gland transverse, arched upward, bordered above with a fringed membrane and below with a narrower membrane, the enclosed surface covered with thick processes;

stamens 6, style short, stigma trifid, persistent.

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, erect.

Capsule elliptic, 3-winged, nodding.