Calochortus
Family: Liliaceae
Calochortus image
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P. L. Fiedler & R. K. Zebell in Flora of North America (vol. 26)
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. 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.

Species within inventory project: Intermountain Regional Herbarium Network
Calochortus ambiguus
Image of Calochortus ambiguus
Calochortus aureus
Image of Calochortus aureus
Calochortus bruneaunis
Image of Calochortus bruneaunis
Calochortus ciscoensis
Image of Calochortus ciscoensis
Calochortus elegans
Image of Calochortus elegans
Calochortus eurycarpus
Image of Calochortus eurycarpus
Calochortus excavatus
Image of Calochortus excavatus
Calochortus flexuosus
Image of Calochortus flexuosus
Calochortus gunnisonii
Image of Calochortus gunnisonii
Calochortus kennedyi
Image of Calochortus kennedyi
Calochortus leichtlinii
Image of Calochortus leichtlinii
Calochortus longebarbatus
Image of Calochortus longebarbatus
Calochortus macrocarpus
Image of Calochortus macrocarpus
Calochortus nuttallii
Image of Calochortus nuttallii
Calochortus panamintensis
Image of Calochortus panamintensis