The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

foothill mariposa lily, Weed's mariposa, Weed's mariposa lily

Gunnison's mariposa lily

Habit Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat fibrous-reticulate. Plants usually bulbose; bulb coat, when present, membranous.
Stems

slender, usually branching, 3–9 dm.

not branching, straight, 2.4–5.5 dm.

Leaves

basal withering, 2–4 dm;

blade linear to lanceolate.

basal withering, 18–35 cm;

blade linear.

Inflorescences

2–6-flowered;

bracts resembling distal cauline leaves.

subumbellate, 1–3-flowered.

Flowers

erect;

perianth open, broadly campanulate;

sepals ovate to lanceolate, attenuate, 2–3 cm;

petals orange-yellow, flecked, broadly cuneate or obovate, ca. 2–3 cm, adaxially bearded with long yellow hairs, margins often red-brown, dentate or fringed;

glands round, slightly depressed, ± glabrous, surrounded by ring of long, dense, obscuring yellow hairs;

filaments 8–12 mm;

anthers lanceolate-oblong, apex acute.

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

erect, linear, angled, 4–5 cm, apex acute.

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

Seeds

light beige.

flat, inflated.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Calochortus weedii

Calochortus gunnisonii

Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
wc North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 4 (3 in the flora).

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Petals deep yellow.
var. weedii
1. Petals purplish or cream to red-brown.
→ 2
2. Petals purplish, apex rounded; anther apex rounded.
var. intermedius
2. Petals usually cream or red-brown, never purplish, apex squarish; anther apex abruptly apiculate.
var. vestus
1. Petals white to purple, occasionally yellow; w United States.
var. gunnisonii
1. Petals pale yellow; New Mexico only.
var. perpulcher
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 141. FNA vol. 26, p. 140.
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. tolmiei, C. umbellatus, C. umpquaensis, C. uniflorus, C. venustus, C. vestae, 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. weedii var. intermedius, C. weedii var. vestus, C. weedii var. weedii
C. gunnisonii var. gunnisonii, C. gunnisonii var. perpulcher
Name authority Alph. Wood: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 20: 169. (1868) S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 348. (1871)
Web links