Flora of North America species comparison

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Calochortus tolmiei

Calochortus gunnisonii
Calochortus tolmiei

hairy star tulip, pussy ears, Tolmie star-tulip, Tolmie's cat's ear, Tolmie's mariposa-lily

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

± slender, usually branching, 1–4 dm.

not branching, straight, 2.4–5.5 dm.
Leaves

basal persistent, 1–4 dm;

blade lanceolate, tapering at base, flat;

cauline bractlike.

basal withering, 18–35 cm;

blade linear.
Inflorescences

± umbellate, 1–several-flowered.

subumbellate, 1–3-flowered.
Flowers

erect or spreading;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals 10–15 mm;

petals white to pinkish or purplish, obovate, 12–25 mm, adaxial surface densely hairy, margins ciliate;

glands bordered proximally by ciliate membrane, distally by short hairs;

anthers lanceolate, apex acute to apiculate.

erect;

perianth open, campanulate;

sepals marked similar to petals, lanceolate, usually much shorter, glabrous, apex acute;

petals white to purple, greenish adaxially, clawed, often with narrow, transverse purple band distal to gland and purple blotch on claw, obovate, cuneate, usually obtuse and rounded distally;

glands transversely oblong, not depressed, densely bearded with distally branching hairs, outermost of which somewhat connate at base to form discontinuous, deeply fringed membranes;

filaments shorter than anthers;

anthers lanceolate, apex acute to apiculate.
Capsules

nodding, winged, oblong, 2–3 cm.

erect, linear-oblong, 3-angled, 3–6 cm, apex acute.
Seeds

deep purple, dark brown in age, irregular.

flat, inflated.
2n

= 20.

= 18.

Calochortus tolmiei

Calochortus gunnisonii
Phenology Flowering mid spring–mid summer.
Habitat Open grassy slopes or in woods, often on poor, dry soil
Elevation 0–2000 m [0–6600 ft]
Distribution
map from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
map from USDA
wc North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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. splendens, C. striatus, C. subalpinus, C. superbus, C. tiburonensis, 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. 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. gunnisonii var. gunnisonii, C. gunnisonii var. perpulcher
Key
1. Petals white to purple, occasionally yellow; w United States.
var. gunnisonii
1. Petals pale yellow; New Mexico only.
var. perpulcher
Name authority Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 398. (1840) S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 348. (1871)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 124. Treatment authors: P. L. Fiedler, R. K. Zebell. FNA vol. 26, p. 140. Treatment authors: P. L. Fiedler, R. K. Zebell.
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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