Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus elegans

Calochortus longebarbatus

cat's ear, elegant cat's ear, elegant mariposa lily, elegant sego lily, elegant star tulip, northwestern mariposa lily
Calochortus longebarbatus

long-bearded mariposa lily, long-bearded sego-lily, long-hair star-tulip, longbeard mariposa lily
Stems

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

usually not branching, 1–3 dm, proximal internodes very short;

bulblet in axil of cauline leaf at or below ground surface.
Leaves

basal persistent, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, flat, glabrous adaxially.

single;

basal persistent, 2–3 dm;

blade linear.
Inflorescences

1–7-flowered.

1–4-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.

erect;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals ovate-lanceolate, 15–20 mm, apex acuminate;

petals light pink to ± lavender, with red-purple adaxial crescent distal to gland, widely obovate-cuneate, 20–30 mm, not ciliate, with a few long hairs;

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

filaments twice length of anthers;

anther apex obtuse to abruptly short-tipped.
Capsules

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

erect, 3-winged, ellipsoid to ± globular, 2–3 cm.
Seeds

light brown, irregular.

light brown, irregular.
2n

= 20.

Calochortus elegans

Calochortus longebarbatus
Distribution
from USDA
nw United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

recent collections of calochortus longebarbatus from oregon exhibit intergradation in the characters that heretofore have been thought to distinguish the following two varieties (k. l. chambers pers. comm.), and their continued recognition may prove unwarranted

Varieties 2 (2 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
1. Perianth obconic-campanulate, petals not sharply bent at gland; basal leaves not reddish at base.
var. longebarbatus
1. Perianth broadly campanulate, petals sharply bent at gland; basal leaves reddish at base.
var. peckii
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 125. FNA vol. 26.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Calochortus Liliaceae > Calochortus
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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. elegans var. elegans, C. elegans var. nanus, C. elegans var. selwayensis
C. longebarbatus var. longebarbatus, C. longebarbatus var. peckii
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 240. (1814) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 381. (1882)
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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