Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Calochortus elegans

Calochortus raichei

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

cedars fairy lantern, cedars mariposa lily, The Cedars fairy-lantern
Stems

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

usually not branching distal to base, 1–10 dm, conspicuously glaucous.
Leaves

basal persistent, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, flat, glabrous adaxially.

basal 3–4 dm;

blade linear, attenuate, channeled, conspicuously glaucous.
Inflorescences

1–7-flowered.

1–2-flowered;

bracts paired, opposite.
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.

nodding;

perianth ± closed at apex, ± oblong;

sepals appressed to petals, grayish mauve to pale green, broadly lanceolate, 1–2.5 cm, glabrous, apex acuminate;

petals pale yellow, obovate, 2–4.5 cm, adaxial surface moderately hairy from gland to apex, margins moderately ciliate to apex, apex acuminate to acute;

glands depressed, with long, thin, distal hairs;

filaments 7–9 mm;

anthers ± oblong, 6 mm, apex obtuse.
Capsules

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

nodding, ridged, not winged, oblong, 2–4 cm, apex acute.
Seeds

light brown, irregular.

dark brown, irregular.
2n

= 20.

Calochortus elegans

Calochortus raichei
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Exposed serpentine soil in open woodlands
Elevation less than 300 m (less than 1000 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
nw United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Of conservation concern.

Calochortus raichei is known only from the headwaters area of Big Austin Creek, Sonoma County. It is threatened by mining activities.

(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. 124.
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. 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. 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
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 240. (1814) Farwig & V. Girard: Herbertia 43(1): 3, figs. 1, 2. (1987)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers