Calochortus ambiguus (Doubting Mariposa Lily)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Doubting Mariposa Lily, Doubting Mariposa-Lily

Description

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Family Liliaceae

Herbs perennial , with a rhizome, bulb, or corm, rarely shrubby or treelike. Leaves basal and/or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled , parallel or rarely reticulate veined. Inflorescence a raceme , panicle, spike, umbel, reduced panicle, or other, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , rarely unisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic; bracts present or absent; bracteoles present or absent. Perianth usually corollalike, 6-merous, rarely 4- or 8-merous, in 2 whorls; segments free (tepals) or united . Stamens 6, rarely 3, 4, or 8, inserted opposite perianth segments; filaments free or adnate to perianth, rarely connate into a corona ; anthers usually 2-loculed, basifixed or dorsifixed and versatile, introrse , latrorse , or extrorse , dehiscing usually by vertical slits. Carpels usually connate for most or all of their length , rarely only at base ; ovary superior, rarely semi-inferior, 3-loculed, rarely 2- or 4-loculed, with axile placentae, or rarely 1-loculed with a parietal placenta; ovules usually anatropous . Nectaries septal, perigonal, or absent. Fruit a capsule or berry. Seeds with abundant endosperm and small embryo.

About 250 genera and 3500 species: worldwide, especially in temperate and subtropical regions; 57 genera (three endemic, two introduced ) and 726 species (379 endemic, 11 introduced) in China.[1]

Genus Calochortus

Herbs, perennial , sometimes from bulbs; bulb coat membranous or fibrous-reticulate. Stems scapelike or leafy, simple or branched, glabrous , often glaucous; bulblets sometimes borne in leaf axils . Leaves sessile; basal persistent or withering by flowering, solitary, blade base sometimes attenuate and petiolelike; cauline 0-several, sometimes proximalmost appearing as basal, reduced. Inflorescences monochasiate or ± umbellate , 1-many-flowered, bracteate . Flowers: perianth globose to broadly campanulate ; sepals 3, distinct , ovate to lanceolate, usually petaloid and glabrous; petals 3, distinct, usually longer and broader than sepals, sometimes clawed, usually hairy adaxially, bearing adaxial gland near base, often spotted to ± patterned; filaments widened at base; anthers usually basifixed or pseudobasifixed, linear to oblong ; ovary superior; style absent; stigmas 3. Fruits capsular , 3-locular, 3-angled or -winged, linear, oblong, or globular , dehiscence septicidal . Seeds many, in 2 rows per locule, irregular or flat, coat usually hexagonally reticulate .

Species ca. 70: w North America, Central America.

Many species of Calochortus are in cultivation. Bulbs of some species were eaten by Native Americans. Petal shape, gland shape, and pubescence are exceedingly variable in many taxa but often are important in identifying species.

As part of a phylogenetic analysis of relationships within the Liliales, T. B . Patterson (1998) studied variation in noncoding cpDNA sequences throughout Calochortus. He resolved seven main clades that are geographically and ecologically strongly cohesive, including the mariposas of dry grasslands and semideserts, the star-tulips of wet meadows, the cat's ears of montane woodlands, and the fairy lanterns of closed forests . Patterson suggested that this pattern of relationships is the result of highly localized speciation within the genus.[2]

Physical Description

Species Calochortus ambiguus

Plants often bulbose ; bulb coat membranous. Stems usually branching, straight. Leaves: basal withering; blade linear-attenuate. Inflorescences subumbellate, 1-4-flowered. Flowers erect ; perianth pinkish or bluish gray, infrequently with longitudinal gray stripe , open, campanulate ; sepals invested near gland , with yellowish, distally enlarged or branching, gland-tipped hairs , base sometimes marked with dull purple, apex acuminate; petals with median blotch usually surrounded by yellow zone, ± equaling sepals, base sometimes marked with dull purple; glands round to lunate , depressed , surrounded with narrow, deeply fringed membrane , densely covered with short, distally branching hairs; filaments shorter than anthers ; anthers oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse to acute. Capsules erect, linear-oblong, 3-angled, apex acute. Seeds flat. 2n = 18. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May, June, July. • Flower Color: near white, pale pink, pink, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Habitat

Dry soils; 1100--2700 m [3].

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 9-12" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a. (map)

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
    - Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
      - Subphylum: Euphyllophytina ()
        Infraphylum: Radiatopses () - Kenrick & Crane, 1997
        Class: Spermatopsida () - Brongniart, 1843
        Subclass: Liliidae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Lilianae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Order: Liliales () - Perleb, 1826
        Family: Liliaceae () - A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons. - Lily Family
        Subfamily: Calochortoideae ()
        Genus: Calochortus () - Pursh, 1813 - [Greek kalos, beautiful, and chortos, grass]
        Subgenus: nom ()
        Specific epithet: ambiguus - (M.E.Jones) Ownbey
        Botanical name: - Calochortus ambiguus (M.E.Jones) Ownbey

Synonyms

Calochortus watsonii M. E. Jones Var. ambiguus M. E. Jones • Calochortus watsonii var. ambiguus M. E. Jones • Contr. w. Bot. 14: 26. 1912

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 06-Jan-2005

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Calochortus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 109 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

More Info

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Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

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Contributors

Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
"Calochortus ambiguus". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 139. Published by Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
USDA, NRCS. 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Arizona State University, International Institute for Species Exploration: Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium
Arizona State University, International Institute for Species Exploration: The Deaver Herbarium, Northern Arizona University
USDA PLANTS: USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662483
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-301630
Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:532374-1
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 42833
International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 42554-2
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMLIL0D030
U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: CAAM4
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 27032

Footnotes

Xinqi Chen, Prof. Song-Yun Liang, Jie-mei Xu, David E. Boufford, Michael G. Gilbert, Rudolf V. Kamelin, Shoichi Kawano, Tetsuo Koyama, Elena V. Mordak, Junko Noguchi, Victor G. Soukup, Hiroshi Takahashi, Kamilla G. Tamanian, Minoru N. Tamura & Nicholas J. Turland "Liliaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 73. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
P. L. Fiedler & R. K. Zebell "Calochortus". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 15, 51, 57, 119. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
"Calochortus ambiguus". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 139. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

Calochortus ambiguus

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Liliaceae

Genus Calochortus

Physical Description

Species Calochortus ambiguus

Size/Age/Growth

Habitat

Biology

Reproduction

Growth

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Calochortus

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Identifiers

Footnotes