''Calochortus pulchellus'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the

lily family The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a ...

known by the common name Mt. Diablo fairy-lantern or Mount Diablo globelily. ''Calochortus pulchellus'' 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 els ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it is mainly restricted to

Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of , visible from most of ...

of the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

, in

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

of the eastern

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

.Jepson eFlora (TJM2): ''Calochortus pulchellus''
/ref> There are historical occurrences in the North

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. Ph ...

, within Marin, Solano, Napa, and

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * ...

Counties.Calflora taxon report, University of California.: ''Calochortus pulchellus'' Benth. Mount Diablo globelily, Mt. Diablo fairy lantern
/ref> It grows in chaparral and woodland habitats, currently only known on the bayside−western slopes of

Description

''Calochortus pulchellus'' is a

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 wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

growing a branching stem up to about 30 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is up to 40 centimeters long and does not wither at flowering; there are 2 or 3 smaller leaves farther up the stem. 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 ...

is a solitary flower or a cluster of several flowers, which are nodding and usually spherical with all their petal tips touching. The three

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 ...

s and three

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s are 2 or 3 centimeters long and pale to deep yellow. The petals are thinly hairy inside and often fringed with yellow hairs. The fruit is a winged capsule 2-3 centimeters in length. ;formerly included *''Calochortus pulchellus'' var. ''amabilis'', now called ''

Calochortus amabilis ''Calochortus amabilis''Baldwin, B. G., D. H. Goldman, D. J. Keil, R. Patterson, T. J. Rosatti, and D. H. Wilken, editors. 2012. "The Jepson Manual: vascular plants of California", second edition. University of California press, Berkeley. pp 138 ...

'' *''Calochortus pulchellus'' var. ''maculosus'', now called ''

'' *''Calochortus pulchellus'' var. ''parviflorus'', now called ''

Calochortus monophyllus ''Calochortus monophyllus'' is a North American species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name yellow star-tulip. ''Calochortus monophyllus'' is endemic to California. It is found in the foothill Interior oak woodland ...

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Calochortus pulchellus'' (Mount Diablo globelily, Mt. Diablo fairy lantern)Jepson Manual (TJM93) Treatment of ''Calochortus pulchellus''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Calochortus pulchellus'' (Mt. Diablo fairy-lantern)Flora of North America, ''Calochortus pulchellus''Contra Costa County Report: Mt. Diablo fairy-lanternU.C. Calphotos gallery of ''Calochortus pulchellus''
pulchellus Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Contra Costa County, California Mount Diablo Diablo Range Taxa named by George Bentham Endemic flora of the San Francisco Bay Area {{Liliales-stub