Triteleia montana
Triteleia hyacinthina
mountain triteleia, Sierra triteleia, slender triplet lily
fool's-onion, hyacinth brodiaea, hyacinth cluster-lily, hyacinth triteleia, white brodiaea, white triteleia, wild hyacinth
10–30 cm × 2–5 mm.
10–40 cm × 4–22 mm.
5–20(–25) cm, ± scabrous.
30–60 cm, smooth to scabrous.
perianth yellow, aging purple, 12–17 mm, tube slender, narrowly funnelform, attenuate at base, 4–7 mm, lobes somewhat spreading, with brown midvein, 8–10 mm, ca. twice as long as tube;
stamens attached at 1 level, equal;
filaments linear, 5–6 mm, more than 1/2 as long as perianth lobes, apical appendages absent;
anthers cream or blue, 1–1.5 mm;
ovary equal to stipe;
pedicel 0.5–3 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 montana
Triteleia hyacinthina
Locally rather plentiful, Triteleia montana appears to have a disjunct distribution in the Sierra Nevada range north and south from Yosemite, though future collections may bridge the gap between the distributions currently indicated. Molecular data suggest that it is related to T. lemmoniae of Arizona (J. C. Pires 2000).
(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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