''Calochortus aureus'' is a
North American species of flowering plants in the
lily family. It is native to the southwestern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, southern
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, northwestern
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
and southwestern
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
).
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>
n
''Calochortus aureus'' is a bulb-forming perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
herb producing a single stalk up to 30 cm tall. Flowers are bright lemon-yellow with red or purple splotches on the petals.
History
''Calochortus aureus'' was published by Sereno Watson
Sereno Watson (December 1, 1826 in East Windsor Hill, Connecticut – March 9, 1892 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American botanist.
Graduating from Yale in 1847 in Biology, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he j ...
in 1873, based on material collected by Ellen Powell Thompson
Ellen Louella (Nellie) Powell Thompson (1840–1911) was an American naturalist and botanist, and an active advocate for women's suffrage.
Life
Ellen Louella (Nellie) Powell Thompson was born in Ohio to parents of English origin. Her siblings i ...
in 1872 in the vicinity of Kanab, Utah, during the US Topographical and Geological Survey of the Colorado River (led by John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...
). Her specimen is deposited at the United States National Herbarium (US). It was later reclassified as ''Calochortus nuttallii'' var. ''aureus'' by Ownbey, but is now recognized as a full species, as originally described.[Welsh, SL. 1982. Utah plant types—historical perspective 1840 to 1981—annotated list, and bibliography. Great Basin Naturalist 42:129-189 (see page 162). Available through th]
Biodiversity Heritage Library
/ref>
References
External links
*
Pacific Bulb Society, Calochortus Species One
Plants for a Future, ''Calochortus aureus'' - S.Watson
aureus
The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden', used as a noun) was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver ''denarii'' (sin. denarius). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th cen ...
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Plants described in 1873
{{Liliales-stub