Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus elegans

Calochortus elegans var. selwayensis

cat's ear, elegant cat's ear, elegant mariposa lily, elegant sego lily, elegant star tulip, northwestern mariposa lily
Photo is of parent taxon

selway mariposa lily
Stems

± slender, usually not branching, often scapelike, 0.5–2 dm.

Leaves

basal persistent, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, flat, glabrous adaxially.

Inflorescences

1–7-flowered.

Flowers

erect to spreading;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals oblong-lanceolate, 12–16 mm, usually glabrous, adaxial surface minutely papillose;

petals light green to white, usually with purple crescent distal to gland, ± oblanceolate or broader, 10–15 mm, adaxial surface hairy only distal to gland, margins conspicuously ciliate;

glands lunate, usually slightly depressed, bordered proximally by ± ciliate membrane, distally by short hairs;

anthers lanceolate, apex apiculate.

Capsules

nodding, winged, ellipsoid-globular, 1–2 cm, apex obtuse or acute.

Seeds

light brown, irregular.

Petals

only moderately bearded, glands shortly transverse-oblong, not depressed, straight or only slightly arched, membranes deeply fringed.
2n

= 20.

Calochortus elegans

Calochortus elegans var. selwayensis
Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer.
Habitat Grassy hillsides, open woods
Elevation 1500–2500 m (4900–8200 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
nw United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Petal gland membranes erose to crenate.
var. nanus
1. Petal gland membranes deeply fringed.
→ 2
2. Petal glands broadly transverse-oblong, extending nearly across lower portion of petal, depressed, strongly arched distally; petals densely bearded.
var. elegans
2. Petal glands shortly transverse-oblong, not depressed, straight or only slightly arched; petals only moderately bearded.
var. selwayensis
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 125. FNA vol. 26, p. 125.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Calochortus Liliaceae > Calochortus > Calochortus elegans
Sibling taxa
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. 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. elegans var. elegans, C. elegans var. nanus
Subordinate taxa
C. elegans var. elegans, C. elegans var. nanus, C. elegans var. selwayensis
Synonyms C. selwayensis
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 240. (1814) (H. St. John) Ownbey: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 27: 419. (1940)
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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