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Brodiaea filifolia

(Thread-Leaved Brodiaea)

Overview

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Threatened

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Thread-Leaved Brodiaea, Thread-Leaf Brodiaea, Threadleaf Brodiaea

Description

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Genus Brodiaea

Herbs, perennial , scapose , from fibrous-coated corms. Leaves 1-6, basal; blade linear , crescent-shaped in cross section . Scape solitary, cylindrical, usually slender, occasionally stout, rigid . Inflorescences umbellate , open, bracteate ; bracts scarious , not enclosing flower buds. Flowers: perianth 6-tepaled, distinctly connate proximally into tube , shiny, abaxial perianth usually bluish purple, tube narrowly campanulate or funnelform , outer 3 lobes narrower than inner 3; stamens 3, epitepalous, opposite inner perianth lobes, alternating with 3 staminodia (staminodia absent in B . orcuttii) opposite outer perianth lobes; filaments adnate to perianth tube, linear, base sometimes dilated to form triangular flap, or sometimes with abaxial wings or appendages ; anthers basifixed , appressed to style; pistil 3-carpellate; ovary superior, green (purple in B. jolonensis), sessile, 3-locular, ovules several; style erect; stigma 3-lobed, lobes distinctly spreading and recurved; pedicel erect , articulate at base. Fruits capsular , ovoid , dehiscence loculicidal. Seeds black, rounded to flattened, coat with crust with longitudinal surface striations . x = 6, 8, 12, 16, 18, 20, or 24.

Species 14: w North America including Mexico (Baja California).

Two schools of thought have existed regarding generic limits within the complex of species recognized under Brodiaea, Triteleia, and Dichelostemma: a single large genus (Brodiaea s.l.) with three subgenera (S. Watson 1879; W. L. Jepson 1923-1925; P. A. Munz 1959), or three separate genera (E. L. Greene 1886; R. F. Hoover 1939; G. Keator 1967, 1989, 1993; T. F. Niehaus 1971, 1980). Recent molecular, anatomical, and developmental evidence supports neither of these views . Bloomeria is related to Triteleia, and Brodiaea is closely related to Dichelostemma, with the only hexandrous species, D. capitatum, being sister to the rest of the three-staminate Brodiaea/Dichelostemma clade (R. Y. Berg 1978, 1996; J. C. Pires 2000). This recent evidence also suggests that the sections presently established within Brodiaea are in need of revision ; thus a sectional classification is not utilized in this treatment (R. F. Hoover 1939b; T. F. Niehaus 1971; J. C. Pires 2000).

Polyploidy and ecological specialization to serpentine and other unique substrates is common in Brodiaea, resulting in several rare and endangered species. Eleven of the fourteen species are restricted to California, where the flowering date is highly dependent on the amount of moisture in the early spring . Several species are exceedingly variable. Corms of some species were eaten by native Americans. Among the most important diagnostic characters within Brodiaea are features of the androecium, particularly the size and shape of the staminodia and apical filament appendages. These characters are easily seen with a hand lens in the field . When collecting flowering specimens, one should make a point of mounting a few dissected flowers in a manner that displays these critical characters.[1]

Physical Description

Species Brodiaea filifolia

Scape 20-30 cm, slender. Flowers 14-20 mm; perianth violet-reddish purple, tube narrowly cylindrical, 6-8 mm, transparent, splitting in fruit, lobes widely spreading , 10-14 mm; filaments 0.5-1 mm, base not triangular, with narrow abaxial wings ; anthers linear , 3-5 mm, apex widely notched ; staminodia inconspicuous, reflexed against perianth, purple, threadlike, 2-4 mm, apex subulate ; ovary 4-5 mm; style 6-7 mm; pedicel 1-4 cm. 2n = 24. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: February, March, April, May.

Habitat

Grasslands, vernal pools ; of conservation concern; 0--300 m. Brodiaea filifolia is endangered . It grows on clay soils at the edges of vernal pools and flood plains in southern California. It has been extirpated from Los Angeles and San Bernadino counties and is seriously threatened by development, vehicles, and agriculture in Riverside and San Diego counties. It is in cultivation[2].

This species typically occurs on gentle hillsides, valleys, and floodplains in semi-alkaline mudflats , vernal pools, mesic southern needlegrass grassland, mixed native-nonnative grassland and alkali grassland plant communities in association with clay , loamy sand, or alkaline silty-clay soils (Peirce and Beauchamp 1979; CDFG 1981; Swinney 1991; Bramlet 1993; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998). In Orange County and San Diego County, the distribution of thread-leaved brodiaea is highly correlated with specific clay soil series. Localities occupied by this species are frequently intermixed with, or near, vernal pool complexes, such as at the Santa Rosa Plateau and in the Upper Salt Creek drainage southwest of Hemet in Riverside County (CNDDB 1998, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,278 meters (0 to 4,193 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Unlike many species of Brodiaea, members of the subgenus Filifoliae do not reproduce vegetatively and rely on seed germination (Niehaus 1971). Thread-leaved brodiaea blooms from March through June (Skinner and Pavlik 1994). The bell-shaped flowers are violet in color (Munz 1974). Brodiaea are self-incompatible and pollination between individuals must take place in order to produce seed (Niehaus 1971). Niehaus (1971) found that a broad spectrum of insects visit Brodiaea flowers but only tumbling flower beetles (Mordellidae) and sweat bees (Helictidae) were found to transport pollen between flowers. On the Santa Rosa Plateau , Gary Bell found that native bees were faithful to specific brodiaea species but the European honeybee was not (G. Bell, the Nature Conservancy, pers. comm. 1997, cited in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998; S. Moray, California Department of Fish and Game Endangered Plant Program, in litt., 1995). Sexual reproduction may occur in “pulses” when the dominant cover of European annuals is reduced as a result of fire suppression (S. Moray, in litt., 1995).

Dispersal : Upon maturity, the ovaries three lobes split, revealing many small (2 to 2.5 mm long) black seeds (Munz 1974). The seeds are then dispersed as wind rattles the capsules and releases the seeds (Smith 1997).

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Hookera filifolia (S. Watson) Greene

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 06-Jan-2005

Similar Species

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Genetics: Thread-leaved brodiaea is one of 13 species of the genus Brodiaea, a genus largely restricted to California (Keator 1993). Brodiaea is variously assigned to the family Liliaceae, or the segregate families Alliaceae or Themidaceae (Dahlgren, et al. 1985; Keator 1993; Fay and Chase 1996). Thread-leaved brodiaea belongs to the subgenus Filifoliae, a small group of three species (Niehaus 1971). Its closest relative is Orcutt’s brodiaea, a species thread-leaved brodiaea occurs sympatrically within several locations. The two species hybridize and readily form hybrid swarms (Niehaus 1971: Boyd, et al. 1992). The mitotic chromosome number of thread-leaved brodiaea is n=12 (Niehaus 1971). This species is known to also hybridize with dwarf brodiaea (B. terrestris) at the Santa Rosa Plateau and possibly also hybridizes with B. jolonensis (Skinner and Pavlik 1994; Recovery Workshop Seminar 1995; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1994).

Members of the genus Brodiaea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 24 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

B. appendiculata (Appendage Brodiaea) · B. californica (California Brodiaea) · B. californica var. californica (California Brodiaea) · B. californica var. leptandra (California Brodiaea) · B. coronaria (Cascade Lily) · B. coronaria coronaria (Crown Brodiaea) · B. coronaria rosea (Indian Valley Brodiaea) · B. coronaria subsp. rosea (Indian Valley Brodiaea) · B. elegans (Elegant Brodiaea) · B. elegans hooveri (Harvest Brodiaea) · B. elegans subsp. hooveri (Hoover's Brodiaea) · B. filifolia (Thread-Leaved Brodiaea) · B. insignis (Kaweah Brodiaea) · B. jolonensis (Chaparral Brodiaea) · B. kinkiensis (San Clemente Island Brodiaea) · B. minor (Dwarf Brodiaea) · B. orcuttii (Orcutt's Brodiaea) · B. pallida (Chinese Camp Brodiaea) · B. purdyi (Sierra Brodiaea) · B. stellaris (Star-Flower Brodiaea) · B. terrestris (Crown Brodiaea) · B. terrestris kernensis (Dwarf Brodiaea) · B. terrestris terrestris (Dwarf Brodiaea) · B. terrestris subsp. kernensis (Kern Brodiaea)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. J. Chris Pires "Brodiaea". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 20, 53, 55, 321, 326, 328, 331, 332, 336, 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Brodiaea filifolia". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 322, 325. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 342.800 meters (1,124.672 feet), Standard Deviation = 769.680 based on 5 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012