Triteleia bridgesii
Triteleia hyacinthina
Bridges' brodiaea, Bridges' triteleia
fool's-onion, hyacinth brodiaea, hyacinth cluster-lily, hyacinth triteleia, white brodiaea, white triteleia, wild hyacinth
20–55 cm × 3–10 mm.
10–40 cm × 4–22 mm.
10–60 cm, smooth except sometimes scabrous near base.
30–60 cm, smooth to scabrous.
perianth lilac, bluish purple, pink, or reddish purple, 27–45 mm, tube strongly attenuate with slender base, 17–25 mm, hyaline vescicles present in tube, lobes abruptly spreading, 10–20 mm, shorter than tube;
stamens attached at 1 level, equal;
filaments triangular, widened toward base, 3–4 mm, apical appendages absent;
anthers bluish, 3.5–4.5 mm;
ovary 1/4–1/3 length of stipe;
pedicel 2–9 cm.
perianth white, sometimes flushed purple abaxially, 9–16 mm, tube shallowly bowl-shaped, 2–4 mm, lobes ascending to spreading, with green midvein, 7–12 mm, 2–3 times longer than tube;
stamens attached at 1 level, equal;
filaments usually triangular-dilated, 2–4 mm, apical appendages absent;
anthers whitish to yellow, rarely blue, 1–2 mm;
ovary twice as long as stipe;
pedicel 0.5–5 cm.
= 16.
= 28, 84.
Triteleia bridgesii
Triteleia hyacinthina
Triteleia bridgesii is similar to T. laxa and in herbarium specimens can be distinguished only by the stamens. However, in fresh flowers, the perianth lobes of T. bridgesii spread abruptly from the throat of the perianth tube, unlike those of T. laxa, and the flowers of T. bridgesii are erect, while those of T. laxa are oriented horizontally. Triteleia bridgesii flowers a month earlier than T. laxa where they both occur in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The flowers in specimens of T. bridgesii from Humboldt County are unusually long, which accounts for the wide ranges of measurements for the perianth.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Triteleia hyacinthina is one of the most widely distributed members of the genus, common in low, moist places such as meadows, vernal pools, and along streams, and found occasionally in drier valley grasslands, foothill woodlands, and closed-cone pine forests. It is cytologically and morphologically variable, with large-flowered forms found in wet places; smaller, scabrous forms found in dry places; forms with rather long pedicels (sometimes recognized as var. lactea); and forms with filaments lacking dilated triangular bases. Most plants have white flowers, but a few interesting forms with restricted distributions have lilac, blue, or even purple flowers. Triteleia ×versicolor Hoover is a sterile hybrid of T. ixioides and T. hyacinthina found in Monterey. Triteleia lilacina is recognized here as a species distinct from T. hyacinthina because of its different base chromosome number (2n = 16) and presence of hyaline vesicles (R. F. Hoover 1955).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
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