Calochortus superbus

Calochortus superbus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Genus:	Calochortus
Species:	C. superbus
Binomial name
Calochortus superbus Purdy ex J.T.Howell
Synonyms[1]
Mariposa superba]] (Purdy ex Howell) Hoover Calochortus venustus var. citrinus Baker Calochortus venustus var. lilacinus Baker Calochortus luteus var. citrinus (Baker) S.Watson Calochortus luteus var. robustus Purdy Calochortus superbus var. pratensis Purdy ex J.T.Howell Calochortus pratensis (Purdy ex J.T.Howell) Hoover Mariposa pratensis (Purdy ex J.T.Howell) Hoover

Calochortus superbus is a North American species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name superb mariposa lily. It is endemic to California, a common member of the flora in several types of habitat across much of the state. It is most abundant in the Coast Ranges and in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada.^[2][3]

Calochortus superbus is a perennial herb growing up to 40 to 60 centimeters tall with a basal leaf up to 30 centimeters long which withers by flowering. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of 1 to 3 erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three sepals and three petals all up to 4 centimeters long and blotched with yellow at the bases. There is generally a darker spot within the yellow area, and the base color of the segments may be white to light purple or solid yellow. The fruit is an angled capsule 5 or 6 centimeters long. This plant resembles Calochortus luteus, a chief discriminant being the oval to crescent shaped nectary of C. luteus compared to the squarish nectary of C. superbus.^[4][5]

References

1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. Purdy, Carlton Elmer ex Howell, John Thomas 1932. Leaflets of Western Botany 1(2): 11–13
3. Calflora taxon report, University of California @ Berkeley, Calochortus superbus J. Howell yellow mariposa
4. Flora of North America, Calochortus superba
5. C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Gold Nuggets: Calochortus luteus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg

External links

• Jepson Manual. 1993. Calochortus superba
• United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
• Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California @ Berkeley

Media related to Calochortus superbus at Wikimedia Commons