Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus aureus

Calochortus monophyllus

golden mariposa lily

yellow cat's ear, yellow star-tulip
Habit Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

usually not branching or twisted, 1–3 dm.

slender, branching or not, 0.8–2 dm.
Leaves

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear.

basal persistent, 1–3 dm;

blade linear, flat.
Inflorescences

erect, subumbellate, 1–4-flowered;

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

1–6-flowered.
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 at anthesis;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals oblong-lanceolate, 16–20 mm, glabrous, apex acuminate;

petals deep yellow, often with red-brown blotch distal to base, narrowly obovate, 12–20 mm, ciliate, adaxial surface densely branching-hairy;

glands bordered proximally by ciliate membrane, distally by short hairs;

anthers short-tipped.
Capsules

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

nodding, winged, oblong, 1–2 cm.
Seeds

light yellow, flat.

dark brown, irregular.
2n

= 32.

= 20.

Calochortus aureus

Calochortus monophyllus
Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer. Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry sandy–clayey places Wooded slopes, clay-loam soils
Elevation 1200–2000 m (3900–6600 ft) 400–1200 m (1300–3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 26. FNA vol. 26, p. 124.
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. luteus, C. lyallii, C. macrocarpus, C. minimus, C. monanthus, 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 Cyclobothra monophylla
Name authority S. Watson: Amer. Naturalist 7: 303. (1873) (Lindley) Lemaire: Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 5: 430b. (1849)
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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