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thread-leaf brodiaea

dwarf brodiaea, low brodiaea, Sierra brodiaea, small brodiaea, vernal pool brodiaea

Scape

20–30 cm, slender.

2–10 cm, slender.

Flowers

14–20 mm;

perianth violet-reddish purple, tube narrowly cylindrical, 6–8 mm, transparent, splitting in fruit, lobes widely spreading, 10–14 mm;

filaments 0.5–1 mm, base not triangular, with narrow abaxial wings;

anthers linear, 3–5 mm, apex widely notched;

staminodia inconspicuous, reflexed against perianth, purple, threadlike, 2–4 mm, apex subulate;

ovary 4–5 mm;

style 6–7 mm;

pedicel 1–4 cm.

14–24 mm;

perianth pale bluish to lilac, rotate, tube urceolate, strongly constricted above ovary, 6–10 mm, tough, opaque, not splitting in fruit, lobes widely spreading, 11–17 mm, inner 5–7 mm wide;

filaments 0.5–4 mm, base not triangular, with narrow abaxial wings, appendages absent;

anthers linear, 1–5 mm, apex hooked;

staminodia erect, held close to stamens, white, broad, 5–8 mm, margins 1/2 involute at mid-length, apex notched;

ovary 3–4 mm;

style 5–6 mm;

pedicel 1–3 cm.

2n

= 24.

= 12.

Brodiaea filifolia

Brodiaea minor

Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–May). Flowering spring (Apr–early May).
Habitat Grasslands, vernal pools Grasslands, gravelly clay soils
Elevation 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Brodiaea filifolia is endangered. It grows on clay soils at the edges of vernal pools and flood plains in southern California. It has been extirpated from Los Angeles and San Bernadino counties and is seriously threatened by development, vehicles, and agriculture in Riverside and San Diego counties. It is in cultivation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Brodiaea minor grows along the low foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. It is very similar to B. purdyi, which may be only a subspecies of it.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 325. FNA vol. 26, p. 326.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Brodiaea Liliaceae > Brodiaea
Sibling taxa
B. appendiculata, B. californica, B. coronaria, B. elegans, B. insignis, B. jolonensis, B. kinkiensis, B. minor, B. orcuttii, B. pallida, B. purdyi, B. stellaris, B. terrestris
B. appendiculata, B. californica, B. coronaria, B. elegans, B. filifolia, B. insignis, B. jolonensis, B. kinkiensis, B. orcuttii, B. pallida, B. purdyi, B. stellaris, B. terrestris
Synonyms Hookera filifolia B. grandiflora var. minor, B. minor var. nana, B. nana, Hookera minor
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 381. (1882) (Bentham) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 236. (1879)
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