Calochortus gunnisonii (Gunnison Mariposa)

Overview

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Gunnison's mariposa lily. <em>Calochortus gunnisonii</em> Blossom, Carson NF, NM, July 2007

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Gunnison Mariposa, Gunnison Mariposa Lily, Gunnison's 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 gunnisonii

Plants usually bulbose ; bulb coat , when present, membranous. Stems not branching, straight, 2.4-5.5 dm. Leaves: basal withering, 18-35 cm; blade linear . Inflorescences subumbellate, 1-3-flowered. Flowers erect ; perianth open, campanulate ; sepals marked similar to petals, lanceolate, usually much shorter, glabrous , apex acute; petals white to purple, greenish adaxially, clawed, often with narrow, transverse purple band distal to gland and purple blotch on claw , obovate , cuneate, usually obtuse and rounded distally; glands transversely oblong , not depressed , densely bearded with distally branching hairs , outermost of which somewhat connate at base to form discontinuous, deeply fringed membranes ; filaments shorter than anthers ; anthers lanceolate, apex acute to apiculate . Capsules erect, linear-oblong, 3-angled, 3-6 cm, apex acute. Seeds flat, inflated . 2n = 18. [source]

Habit: Deciduous.

Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May. • Flower Color: near white, purple, white, yellow

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 3-6" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b. (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: gunnisonii - S.Watson
        Botanical name: - Calochortus gunnisonii S.Watson

Synonyms

Calochortus Gunnisoni • Calochortus gunnisoni S. Watson

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 gunnisonii". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 122, 140. 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 4 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.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Missouri Botanical Garden
National Herbarium of New South Wales: NSW herbarium collection
University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
USDA PLANTS: USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662496
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-301694
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 42849
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMLIL0D0J0
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 166566

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 gunnisonii

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Liliaceae

Genus Calochortus

Physical Description

Species Calochortus gunnisonii

Size/Age/Growth

Biology

Growth

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Calochortus

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Identifiers

Footnotes