''Calochortus syntrophus'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the
lily family known by the common names Callahan's mariposa lily and clustered mariposa lily. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to northern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where it occurs in a remote area north of
Montgomery Creek in
Shasta County.
[Gerritsen, M. E. and R. Parsons]
Calochortus: Mariposa lilies & their relatives.
Timber Press, 2007. 125. It has also been spotted in adjacent
Tehama County
Tehama County ( ; Wintun for "high water") is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff.
Tehama County comprises th ...
.
[ Its habitat includes open, rocky areas with moist or wet soils in oak woodland territory. It was first discovered in 1993 and its description was published the following year.Calflora taxon report, University of California @ Berkeley, ''Calochortus syntrophus'' Callahan Callahan's mariposa lily ]
/ref>
This plant produces a thick, waxy stem 40 to 60 centimeters in maximum height. It grows from a bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
which sometimes divides and sends up new stems nearby.[ The leaves are up to 20 or 30 centimeters long near the base of the plant and those occurring higher on the stem are shorter. The ]inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a solitary flower or an umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...
-like cluster of up to five flowers. Each flower has lance-shaped sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s 2 to 4 centimeters long. The bell-shaped bloom has three whitish petals 3 to 5 centimeters long which are generally marked with a reddish-brown blotch near the base. The flower bases are yellow with whiskery glandular hairs. The petals turn from white to pink as they age.[
]
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
syntrophus
Plants described in 1994
Endemic flora of California
{{Liliales-stub