Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus splendens

Calochortus ambiguus

splendid mariposa, splendid mariposa lily

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

branching, ± straight, 2–6 dm.

usually branching, straight.
Leaves

basal withering, 1–2 dm;

blade linear, attenuate.

basal withering;

blade linear-attenuate.
Inflorescences

monochasiate, 1–4-flowered;

bracts 2–5 cm.

subumbellate, 1–4-flowered.
Flowers

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.

erect;

perianth pinkish or bluish gray, infrequently with longitudinal gray stripe, open, campanulate;

sepals invested near gland, with yellowish, distally enlarged or branching, gland-tipped hairs, base sometimes marked with dull purple, apex acuminate;

petals with median blotch usually surrounded by yellow zone, ± equaling sepals, base sometimes marked with dull purple;

glands round to lunate, depressed, surrounded with narrow, deeply fringed membrane, densely covered with short, distally branching hairs;

filaments shorter than anthers;

anthers oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse to acute.
Capsules

erect, linear, angled, 5–7 cm.

erect, linear-oblong, 3-angled, apex acute.
Seeds

light-colored, flat.

flat.
2n

= 14.

= 18.

Calochortus splendens

Calochortus ambiguus
Phenology Flowering late spring–mid summer. Flowering late spring–summer.
Habitat Dry slopes in heavy or granitic soil in chaparral, valley grassland, pine forest Dry soils
Elevation less than 2800 m (less than 9200 ft) 1100–2700 m (3600–8900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 133. FNA vol. 26.
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. 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
C. albus, C. amabilis, 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. 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
Synonyms C. davidsonianus, Mariposa splendens C. watsonii var. ambiguus
Name authority Douglas ex Bentham: Trans. Hort. Soc. London, ser. 2, 1: 411, plate 15, fig.1. (1835) (M. E. Jones) Ownbey: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 27: 505. (1940)
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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