Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus aureus

Calochortus luteus

golden mariposa lily

yellow mariposa, yellow mariposa lily
Habit Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

usually not branching or twisted, 1–3 dm.

slender, 2–5 dm.
Leaves

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear.

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear.
Inflorescences

erect, subumbellate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts unequal at base of inflorescence, 1–6 cm.

subumbellate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 1–8 cm.
Flowers

erect;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals with maroon blotch distal to gland, broadly lanceolate, 1–4 cm, apex acuminate;

petals lemon yellow, with maroon blotch distal to gland, broadly obovate, cuneate, 3–3.5 cm, ± glabrous or with a few lemon-yellow hairs near gland;

glands round, depressed, surrounded by conspicuously fringed membranes, densely covered with short, unbranched or distally branching hairs;

filaments ca. equaling anthers;

anthers yellowish cream, oblong, apex obtuse.

erect;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals lanceolate-oblong, attenuate, 2–3 cm;

petals deep yellow, usually streaked red-brown proximally, often with median red-brown blotch, cuneate to obovate, 2–4 cm, with a few slender hairs near gland;

glands ± lunate to oblong, not depressed, covered with short, matted hairs;

filaments 7–9 mm;

anthers linear-oblong, 4–6 mm, apex obtuse or acute.
Capsules

erect, light tan to light brown, linear-lanceoloid, 3-angled, ca. 2.5–5 cm, apex acuminate.

erect, lanceoloid-linear, angled, 3–6 cm.
Seeds

light yellow, flat.

light beige, flat.
2n

= 32.

= 14, 28.

Calochortus aureus

Calochortus luteus
Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer. Flowering late spring–mid summer.
Habitat Dry sandy–clayey places Heavy soils in grasslands, open woodlands, mixed evergreen forests
Elevation 1200–2000 m (3900–6600 ft) 0–700 m (0–2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Coastal plants of Calochortus luteus are mostly triploid, while those of the interior are mostly diploid. Occasionally this species hybridizes with C. superbus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26. FNA vol. 26, p. 135.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Calochortus Liliaceae > Calochortus
Sibling taxa
C. albus, C. amabilis, C. ambiguus, C. amoenus, C. apiculatus, C. argillosus, 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. 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
Synonyms C. nuttallii var. aureus Mariposa lutea
Name authority S. Watson: Amer. Naturalist 7: 303. (1873) Douglas ex Lindley: Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 19: plate 1567. (1833)
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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