Zigadenus venenosus |
Zigadenus elegans |
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grass-leaf death-camas, meadow death-camas |
mountain death camas, zigadène élégant |
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Habit | Plants 2–7 dm, from bulbs; bulbs not clumped, tunicate, ovoid, 10–30 × 8–20 mm. | Plants 2–8 dm, from bulbs; bulbs not clumped, tunicate, narrowly ovoid, 1.5–3 × 1–2 cm. | ||||
Stems | without persistent leaf bases. |
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Leaves | proximal blades 12–50 cm × 2–10 mm. |
proximal blades 10–30 cm × 3–15 mm. |
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Inflorescences | racemose or paniculate with 1 or 2 basal branches, 10–50-flowered, terminal raceme pyramidal in anthesis, 2–20 × 2–5 cm, branches (if any) 1/10–1/3 length of entire inflorescence, diverging from main axis at 10°–60° when in fruit. |
loosely racemose to paniculate, 10–50-flowered, with 1–4 branches, 0.9–2.5 dm × 3–6 cm. |
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Flowers | perianth hypogynous, campanulate, 5–10 mm diam.; tepals persistent in fruit, cream colored, 2–5 × 1–3 mm, outer often clawed, apex usually acute; gland 1, obovate, distal margins evident to obscure, irregular; filaments straight, usually equaling tepals, occasionally longer, thickened proximally; pedicel usually ascending in fruit, occasionally perpendicular to stem, 3–25 mm, bracts usually green, sometimes white, 5–25 mm. |
perianth perigynous, rotate to rotate-campanulate, 15–20 mm diam.; tepals persistent in fruit, cream colored to greenish, ovate, 7–12 × 4–5 mm, somewhat narrowed at base; gland 1, obcordate; pedicel erect at anthesis, 1–2.3 cm, bracts often tinged with purple or pink, ovate, 5–20 mm. |
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Capsules | 8–20 × 4–7 mm. |
narrowly conic, 10–20 mm. |
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2n | = 22. |
= 32. |
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Zigadenus venenosus |
Zigadenus elegans |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Moist grasslands, river and lake shores, bogs in coniferous forests | |||||
Elevation | 0–3600 m (0–11800 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
w North America
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AK; AZ; CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; MD; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Mexico
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Zigadenus venenosus is a smaller, more slender plant than either Z. paniculatus or Z. fontanus. It can be distinguished from Z. micranthus by its ascending pedicels. It has a much broader distribution than either Z. micranthus or Z. fontanus, and does not occur on serpentine substrates. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Zigadenus elegans has been treated previously as comprising two varieties, or two subspecies (W. B. Zomlefer 1997b). The western var. or subsp. elegans tends to be a smaller plant with a raceme or a 1–2-branched panicle and glabrous, sometimes glaucous leaves and stems; while the eastern var. or subsp. glaucus tends to be a larger plant with a paniculate inflorescence and glaucous leaves and stems. Because there is considerable evidence of intergradation between the two entities toward the middle of the range, including overlapping flowering times, they have not been formally distinguished here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 84. | FNA vol. 26. | ||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Zigadenus | Liliaceae > Zigadenus | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Toxicoscordion venenosum | Anticlea alpina, Anticlea chlorantha, Anticlea coloradensis, Anticlea elegans, Anticlea glauca, Anticlea gracilenta, Anticlea longa, Anticlea mohinorensis, Melanthium glaucum, Z. alpinus, Z. chloranthus, Z. coloradensis, Z. dilatatus, Z. elegans subsp. glaucus, Z. elegans var. glaucus, Z. glaucus, Z. gracilentus, Z. longus, Z. mohinorensis, Z. washakie | ||||
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 279. (1879) | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 241. (1814) | ||||
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