Echeandia flavescens
Echeandia
amberlily, Torrey's craglily
echeandia
basal 3–15, 8–40 cm × 0.5–9 mm, blade very narrowly linear to narrowly linear, margins denticulate, ciliate;
cauline 0–3, (0.5–)1–9(–13) cm, blade long-acuminate in most specimens, the proximal not exceeding next node.
basal and cauline;
blade 2-faced, very narrowly linear to narrowly oblong or elliptic, base surrounded by fibrous leaf bases from previous year.
1–2, 0–1(–3)-branched, 20–60(–84) cm, wholly glabrous or scabrescent toward base.
racemose or paniculate, (1–)2–4 flowers per node.
facing upward or away from scape;
tepals elliptic, (7.5–)9–15 mm, outer 2–4 mm wide, inner 4–8.5 mm wide;
filaments inserted in open pits, narrowly cylindric to narrowly clavate, 4–8.5 mm;
anthers distinct, versatile, 1.5–3.5 mm;
ovary 2–5 mm.
bisexual or pseudohermaphroditic-staminate, ± erect to pendulous;
tepals strongly reflexed to spreading, distinct, yellow [orange, white, or cream], 3-veined, ± elliptic, equal;
stamens 6;
filaments linear to clavate, bearing scales at right angles to axis of filament [scaleless];
anthers connate into cone or distinct, dorsifixed near base, yellow;
ovary superior, ellipsoid, ovules 8+ per locule;
style 1.
capsular, broadly to narrowly oblong, dehiscence loculicidal.
broadly oblong to oblong, 7–16 × 3–6 mm.
black, irregularly compressed and folded, colliculose.
roots enlarged 1–2(–4) cm from corms, (1.5–)2–5 cm.
= 8.
= 16, 32, 48.
Echeandia flavescens
Echeandia
Echeandia flavescens is a highly variable polyploid complex. Most specimens from the flora fall into one of three groups: slender plants with leaves 1–4 mm wide and capsules 7–11 mm; slender plants with leaves 1–4 mm wide and capsules 12–15 mm; and more robust plants with leaves 4–9 mm wide and capsules 12–16 mm. The first plants are diploids and the last two are hexaploids and octoploids, respectively. The robust morph was described as Anthericum stenocarpum and has been collected at scattered locations throughout the distributional range of the species. Because the correlation between morphology and ploidy level breaks down across the distributional range, no infraspecific taxa are recognized.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 80 (3 in the flora).
More than 60 species of Echeandia occur in North America south of the United States. Two of those reach their northern distributional limits in the southwestern United States. The third species included here is known only from the southern tip of Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Anthers connate, 4 mm or longer. | E. texensis |
1. Anthers distinct, shorter than 4 mm. | → 2 |
2. Filaments inserted in open pits; anthers versatile; most storage roots 1–2(–4) cm from corms. | E. flavescens |
2. Filaments inserted in covered pits; anthers not versatile, usually twisted and/or reflexed, thus appearing versatile; most storage roots 2–8 cm from corms or thickened through out. | E. chandleri |
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