Erythronium californicum |
Erythronium grandiflorum |
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California fawn-lily |
dogtooth fawn lily, glacier-lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lily, yellow glacier lily |
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Bulbs | ovoid, 35–60 mm, sometimes producing sessile offsets. |
slender, 30–50 mm. |
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Leaves | 7–18 cm; blade distinctly mottled with irregular streaks of brown or white, oblong to narrowly ovate, margins usually wavy. |
5–20 cm; blade green, lanceolate, ± glaucous, base gradually narrowed to petiole, margins ± wavy. |
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Scape | ± reddish, branched well above leaves when flowers more than 1, 10–30 cm. |
5–30 cm. |
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Inflorescences | 1–3-flowered. |
usually 1-flowered, sometimes up to 5-flowered. |
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Flowers | flowering individuals generally abundant in populations; tepals white to cream, base yellow and often banded with brown or red, ± narrowly ovate, 25–40 mm, inner with small auricles at base; stamens 12–25 mm; filaments ± white, linear, slender, less than 0.8 mm wide; anthers white to cream; style ± white, 10–14 mm; stigma unlobed or with lobes less than 2 mm. |
tepals recurved, bright yellow with (in live specimens) narrow paler zone at base, or white to creamy white with yellow base, narrowly ovate, 20–35 mm, length at least 4 times width, inner usually auriculate at base; stamens 11–18 mm; filaments white, ± slender, linear, less than 0.8 mm wide; anthers cream, yellow, red, or purplish red; pollen yellow or red; style white, 10–15 mm; stigma unlobed or with slender, recurved lobes (1–)2–4 mm. |
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Capsules | obovoid, 3–6 cm. |
oblong to narrowly obovoid, 2–5 cm. |
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2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
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Erythronium californicum |
Erythronium grandiflorum |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Mar–Apr). | |||||
Habitat | Dry woods, openings, cliffs | |||||
Elevation | 0–1900 m (0–6200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA
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w North America
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Discussion | Forms intermediate with Erythronium citrinum and E. multiscapideum are sometimes seen where ranges overlap. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). This beautiful species is often very abundant in mountain meadows of western North America, especially in the Rocky Mountains, where it may form spectacular displays. It is often difficult to grow in cultivation outside its preferred habitats. Bulbs of this species were a staple food for native North American peoples of several tribes, and were eaten in large quantities and also traded. Within the typical subspecies, both anthers and pollen vary considerably in color; plants with pale anthers have been called var. pallidum, and forms with yellow anthers, var. chrysandrum. Plants possessing very short stigma lobes and lacking auricles on the tepals have been recognized as var. nudipetalum, but they do not appear sufficiently distinct to warrant taxonomic recognition and may simply represent depauperate forms. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 160. | FNA vol. 26, p. 156. | ||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Erythronium | Liliaceae > Erythronium | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Purdy: Fl. & Sylva 2: 253. (1904) | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 231. (1814) | ||||
Web links |