Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus ambiguus

Calochortus pulchellus

doubting mariposa lily

Mount Diablo fairy-lantern, Mt. Diablo fairy-lantern
Habit Plants often bulbose; bulb coat membranous.
Stems

usually branching, straight.

usually branching distal to base, 1–3 dm, not glaucous.
Leaves

basal withering;

blade linear-attenuate.

basal persistent, 1–4 dm;

blade green, lanceolate, tapering at base, flat, not glaucous.
Inflorescences

subumbellate, 1–4-flowered.

1–5-flowered.
Flowers

erect;

perianth pinkish or bluish gray, infrequently with longitudinal gray stripe, open, campanulate;

sepals invested near gland, with yellowish, distally enlarged or branching, gland-tipped hairs, base sometimes marked with dull purple, apex acuminate;

petals with median blotch usually surrounded by yellow zone, ± equaling sepals, base sometimes marked with dull purple;

glands round to lunate, depressed, surrounded with narrow, deeply fringed membrane, densely covered with short, distally branching hairs;

filaments shorter than anthers;

anthers oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse to acute.

nodding;

perianth closed at apex, ± globular;

sepals spreading, yellow-green, ovate to lanceolate, 2–3 cm, glabrous, apex acuminate;

petals pale yellow, lanceolate, 3–5 cm, conspicuously fringed with short, thick hairs, adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, apex obtuse;

glands deeply depressed, bordered distally by long, slender hairs;

filaments 6–8 mm;

anthers oblong, 3–5 mm, apex obtuse or acute.
Capsules

erect, linear-oblong, 3-angled, apex acute.

nodding, winged, ellipsoid-oblong, 2–4 cm.
Seeds

flat.

dark brown, irregular.
2n

= 18.

= 20.

Calochortus ambiguus

Calochortus pulchellus
Phenology Flowering late spring–summer. Flowering late spring–early summer.
Habitat Dry soils Open places in woods, chaparral, typically on serpentine
Elevation 1100–2700 m (3600–8900 ft) 200–800 m (700–2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Calochortus pulchellus is known from Mt. Diablo, Contra Costa County.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26. FNA vol. 26, p. 123.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Calochortus Liliaceae > Calochortus
Sibling taxa
C. albus, C. amabilis, C. amoenus, C. apiculatus, C. argillosus, C. aureus, C. bruneaunis, C. catalinae, C. clavatus, C. coeruleus, C. concolor, C. coxii, C. dunnii, C. elegans, C. eurycarpus, C. excavatus, C. flexuosus, C. greenei, C. gunnisonii, C. howellii, C. indecorus, C. invenustus, C. kennedyi, C. leichtlinii, C. longebarbatus, C. luteus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. minimus, C. monanthus, C. monophyllus, C. nitidus, C. nudus, C. nuttallii, C. obispoensis, C. palmeri, C. panamintensis, C. persistens, C. plummerae, C. pulchellus, C. raichei, C. simulans, C. splendens, C. striatus, C. subalpinus, C. superbus, C. tiburonensis, C. tolmiei, C. umbellatus, C. umpquaensis, C. uniflorus, C. venustus, C. vestae, C. weedii, C. westonii
C. albus, C. amabilis, C. ambiguus, C. amoenus, C. apiculatus, C. argillosus, C. aureus, C. bruneaunis, C. catalinae, C. clavatus, C. coeruleus, C. concolor, C. coxii, C. dunnii, C. elegans, C. eurycarpus, C. excavatus, C. flexuosus, C. greenei, C. gunnisonii, C. howellii, C. indecorus, C. invenustus, C. kennedyi, C. leichtlinii, C. longebarbatus, C. luteus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. minimus, C. monanthus, C. monophyllus, C. nitidus, C. nudus, C. nuttallii, C. obispoensis, C. palmeri, C. panamintensis, C. persistens, C. plummerae, C. raichei, C. simulans, C. splendens, C. striatus, C. subalpinus, C. superbus, C. tiburonensis, C. tolmiei, C. umbellatus, C. umpquaensis, C. uniflorus, C. venustus, C. vestae, C. weedii, C. westonii
Synonyms C. watsonii var. ambiguus Cyclobothra pulchella
Name authority (M. E. Jones) Ownbey: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 27: 505. (1940) (Bentham) Alph. Wood: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 20: 168. (1868)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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