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mountain triteleia, Sierra triteleia, slender triplet lily

foothill triteleia, glassy wild hyacinth, lilac pretty-face, lilac-flower wild hyacinth

Leaves

10–30 cm × 2–5 mm.

10–40 cm × 4–22 mm.

Scape

5–20(–25) cm, ± scabrous.

30–60 cm, smooth to scabrous.

Flowers

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, unstriped, 7–10 mm, tube shallowly bowl-shaped, 2–4 mm, hyaline vescicles present in tube, lobes 7–12 mm, 2–3 times longer than tube;

stamens attached at 1 level, equal;

filaments linear, 2–4 mm, apical appendages absent;

anthers bluish purple or bluish purple-dotted, 1–2 mm;

ovary twice as long as stipe;

pedicel 0.5–5 cm.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Triteleia montana

Triteleia lilacina

Phenology Flowering summer (Jun–Jul). Flowering spring (Mar–Jun).
Habitat Open montane coniferous forest, gravelly plains, granite ridges Dry rocky outcrops, volcanic hills and mesas
Elevation 1200–3000 m (3900–9800 ft) 100–200 m (300–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

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 lilacina differs from T. hyacinthina in base chromosome number and in that the interior of the perianth tube is covered with hyaline vesicles (making a glassy nectary). In addition, T. lilacina has linear filaments and bluish purple anthers at anthesis, whereas T. hyacinthina tends to have triangular-dilated filaments and whitish to yellow (or rarely blue) anthers at anthesis.

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 345. FNA vol. 26, p. 345.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Triteleia Liliaceae > Triteleia
Sibling taxa
T. bridgesii, T. clementina, T. crocea, T. dudleyi, T. grandiflora, T. hendersonii, T. hyacinthina, T. ixioides, T. laxa, T. lemmoniae, T. lilacina, T. lugens, T. peduncularis
T. bridgesii, T. clementina, T. crocea, T. dudleyi, T. grandiflora, T. hendersonii, T. hyacinthina, T. ixioides, T. laxa, T. lemmoniae, T. lugens, T. montana, T. peduncularis
Synonyms Brodiaea gracilis, Hookera gracilis, T. gracilis Brodiaea hyacinthina var. greenei, Brodiaea lilacina, Hesperoscordum lilacinum, T. hyacinthina var. greenei
Name authority Hoover: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 25: 95. (1941) Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2: 143. (1886)
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