Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus howellii

Calochortus splendens
Calochortus howellii

Howell's mariposa lily

splendid mariposa, splendid mariposa lily
Habit Plants rarely bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

slender, not branching or rarely branching in axil of cauline leaf, straight, 2–4 dm.

branching, ± straight, 2–6 dm.
Leaves

basal persistent, 20–35 cm;

blade gradually tapering distally, adaxially pubescent.

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, attenuate.
Inflorescences

subumbellate, 1–3-flowered;

bracts 2, subopposite, linear to narrowly lanceolate, attenuate, 1–3 cm.

monochasiate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 2–5 cm.
Flowers

erect;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals shorter than petals, ovate-acuminate, glabrous;

petals yellowish white, with purplish hairs toward base, broadly obovate, cuneate, inconspicuously fringed laterally, sparingly short-hairy adaxially, apex rounded;

glands transversely oblong, slightly depressed, densely covered with short, distally branching hairs, the bases of which unite at lower margin to form inconspicuous, discontinuous membranes;

filaments shorter than anthers;

anthers oblong-lanceolate, apex acute to short-apiculate.

erect;

perianth open, campanulate, narrow at base;

sepals deep lilac, often with purple blotch, lanceolate-ovate to acuminate, 2–3 cm;

petals lavender to deep purple, usually with purple blotch at base, obovate to cuneate, rounded, 3–5 cm, with scattered, white and/or purple hairs proximal to middle, sometimes with yellow hairs distal to gland, margins dentate distally;

glands ± square, not depressed, usually with many branching hairs;

filaments 7–8 mm;

anthers purple or white, 5–7 mm, apex obtuse to abruptly pointed.
Capsules

erect, 3-winged, ellipsoid, ca. 2 cm, base and apex acute.

erect, linear, angled, 5–7 cm.
Seeds

light-colored, irregular.

light-colored, flat.
2n

= 20.

= 14.

Calochortus howellii

Calochortus splendens
Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer. Flowering late spring–mid summer.
Habitat Dry, rocky, serpentine soils Dry slopes in heavy or granitic soil in chaparral, valley grassland, pine forest
Elevation 300–500 m (1000–1600 ft) less than 2800 m (less than 9200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Calochortus howellii is known only from the Illinois River valley, Josephine County.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 129. 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. flexuosus, C. greenei, C. gunnisonii, 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. raichei, C. simulans, 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. davidsonianus, Mariposa splendens
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 23: 266. (1888) Douglas ex Bentham: Trans. Hort. Soc. London, ser. 2, 1: 411, plate 15, fig.1. (1835)
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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