Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus flexuosus

Calochortus palmeri

winding mariposa, winding mariposa lily

Palmer's mariposa lily, strangling mariposa
Habit Plants rarely bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous. Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat membranous.
Stems

twining or straggling over ground, branching, 1–2 dm, usually sinuous.

usually branching, straight, 3–6 dm; bearing bulblets or not.
Leaves

basal, withering;

blade linear, attenuate.

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear-attenuate.
Inflorescences

1–4-flowered;

bracts 1–3 cm.

mono-chasiate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 1–2 cm.
Flowers

erect;

perianth open, campanulate, each member with transverse yellow band;

sepals lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 2–3 cm;

petals white with lilac tinge, darker veined, especially distally, sometimes with purple blotch distal to gland, obovate to cuneate, 3–4 cm, with sparse or dense, short or long hairs near gland, apex rounded;

glands transverse-lunate or wider, densely short-hairy;

filaments 6–10 mm;

anthers oblong, 5–7 mm, apex obtuse or acute.

erect;

perianth open, broadly campanulate;

sepals usually with brownish blotch near base, lanceolate, 3 cm, apex acuminate;

petals white to lavender, sometimes with brownish blotch distal to gland, obovate-cuneate, rounded distally, 2–3 cm, usually with yellow hairs near gland, apex acute to acuminate;

glands many, rounded, not depressed, short, thick, distally knobbed, sometimes with yellowish or purplish hairs, otherwise glabrous;

filaments 7–8 mm;

anthers white, oblong, 5–7 mm, apex acute.
Capsules

erect, lanceoloid, angled, stout, 3–4 cm.

erect, linear, angled in cross section, ca. 5 cm.
Seeds

light beige, flat.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Calochortus flexuosus

Calochortus palmeri
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry stony slopes, desert hills, mesas, creosote bush scrub, sagebrush scrub
Elevation 500–2000 m (1600–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Petal glands yellow-hairy; stems bulbeliferous at base; bracts alternate.
var. palmeri
1. Petal glands glabrous or purple-hairy; stems not bulbeliferous; bracts opposite.
var. munzii
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 131. FNA vol. 26, p. 133.
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. elegans, C. eurycarpus, C. excavatus, 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. 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. palmeri var. munzii, C. palmeri var. palmeri
Name authority S. Watson: Amer. Naturalist 7: 303. (1873) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 266. (1879)
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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