Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus palmeri

Calochortus clavatus

Palmer's mariposa lily, strangling mariposa

club hair mariposa, clubhair mariposa lily, slender mariposa lily
Habit Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat membranous. Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

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

slender or coarse, stout, branching or not, strongly flexuous, 3–10 dm.
Leaves

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear-attenuate.

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear.
Inflorescences

mono-chasiate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 1–2 cm.

subumbellate, 1–6-flowered;

bracts 4–8 cm, bases dilated.
Flowers

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.

erect;

perianth open, cup-shaped;

sepals usually with red-brown blotch at base, lanceolate-ovate, 2–4 cm, apex acute;

petals lemon to golden yellow, with transverse line distal to gland, broadly cuneate to obovate, 3–5 cm;

glands round, deeply depressed, densely covered with short hairs with branching, coralline tips, surrounded by conspicuously fringed membrane and club-shaped hairs;

filaments ca. 10 mm;

anthers purplish brown, oblong, 4–10 mm.
Capsules

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

erect, lanceoloid-linear, angled, 6–9 cm, apex acuminate.
Seeds

light yellow, translucent, flat.
2n

= 14.

= 16.

Calochortus palmeri

Calochortus clavatus
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[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.)

Varieties 5 (5 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
1. Petals shorter than sepals; petal glands very deeply depressed.
var. avius
1. Petals longer than sepals; petal glands shallowly to moderately depressed.
→ 2
2. Stems straight, slender, usually 3 dm or shorter.
→ 2
2. Stems flexuous, coarse, usually 5–10 dm.
→ 3
3. Petals 3–4 cm, sparsely bearded; leaves not recurved.
var. gracilis
3. Petals 4–5 cm, bearded; leaves strongly recurved.
var. recurvifolius
4. Petals deep yellow, hairs very knobby; anthers deep purple.
var. clavatus
4. Petals light yellow, hairs not very knobby; anthers yellow to medium purple.
var. pallidus
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 133. FNA vol. 26, p. 138.
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. 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
C. albus, C. amabilis, C. ambiguus, C. amoenus, C. apiculatus, C. argillosus, C. aureus, C. bruneaunis, C. catalinae, 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. 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
C. clavatus var. avius, C. clavatus var. clavatus, C. clavatus var. gracilis, C. clavatus var. pallidus, C. clavatus var. recurvifolius
Synonyms Mariposa clavata
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 266. (1879) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 265. (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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