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desert mariposa, desert mariposa lily

splendid mariposa, splendid mariposa lily

Habit Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous. Plants rarely bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

usually not branching but sometimes twisted, 1–2(–5) dm.

branching, ± straight, 2–6 dm.

Leaves

blade linear-attenuate;

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade channeled, glaucous.

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, attenuate.

Inflorescences

subumbellate, 1–6-flowered;

bracts 2–4 cm, bases dilated.

monochasiate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 2–5 cm.

Flowers

erect;

perianth open, campanulate, each member often with brown-purple blotch near base;

sepals ovate, 2–3 cm, apex acute;

petals orange to red or ± yellow, cuneate to obovate, 3–5 cm, with a few slightly enlarged hairs near gland;

glands round, depressed, surrounded by conspicuously fringed membrane, densely covered with unbranched or cleft hairs;

filaments 4–5 mm;

anthers purplish, lanceolate, 5–8 mm.

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, longitudinally striped, lanceoloid-linear, angled, 4–6 cm, apex acuminate.

erect, linear, angled, 5–7 cm.

Seeds

flat.

light-colored, flat.

2n

=16.

= 14.

Calochortus kennedyi

Calochortus splendens

Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer.
Habitat Dry slopes in heavy or granitic soil in chaparral, valley grassland, pine forest
Elevation less than 2800 m (less than 9200 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
sw United States; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Petals orange to red.
var. kennedyi
1. Petals ± yellow.
var. munzii
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 138. 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. howellii, C. indecorus, C. invenustus, 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
Subordinate taxa
C. kennedyi var. kennedyi, C. kennedyi var. munzii
Synonyms C. davidsonianus, Mariposa splendens
Name authority Porter: Bot. Gaz. 2: 79. (1877) Douglas ex Bentham: Trans. Hort. Soc. London, ser. 2, 1: 411, plate 15, fig.1. (1835)
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