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Definition: Calochortus

Part of Speech Definition
Noun 1. Large genus of western North American leafy-stemmed bulbous herbs.[Wordnet].

Source: WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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Date "Calochortus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1911. (references)

Common Expressions: Calochortus

Expressions Definition
Calochortus albus Globe lily having open branched clusters of egg-shaped white flowers; southern California. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus amabilis Globe lily having open branched clusters of clear yellow egg-shaped flowers; northern California. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus amoenus Globe lily with deep rose-pink or purple egg-shaped flowers on flexuous stems; western slopes of Sierra Nevada in San Joaquin Valley. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus elegans Small plant with slender bent stems bearing branched clusters of a few white star-shaped flowers with petals shaped like cat's ears; southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon to Montana. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus kennedyi Mariposa with clusters of bell-shaped vermilion or orange or yellow flowers atop short stems; southern California to Arizona and Mexico. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus luteus Mariposa having clusters of a few large deep yellow bell-shaped flowers atop slender stems; California coastal ranges. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus macrocarpus Mariposa having loose clusters of one to three handsome lilac flowers resembling umbels atop stout erect stems; arid northwestern North America east of Cascade Mountains from southern British Columbia to northern California. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Calochortus nuttallii Perennial plant having clusters of one to four showy white bell-shaped flowers atop erect unbranched stems; edible bulbs useful in times of scarcity; eastern Montana and western North Dakota south to northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Genus Calochortus Large genus of western North American leafy-stemmed bulbous herbs. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Extended Definition: Calochortus

Calochortus

Calochortus
Sego Lily Calochortus nuttallii
Sego Lily
Calochortus nuttallii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Calochortus
Species

See text.

Calochortus is a genus of bulbous plants that includes 70 species from British Columbia to Guatemala and east to Nebraska. Calochortus is the most widely dispersed genus of Liliaceae on the North American Pacific coast.[1] Of these, 28 species are endemic to California.[2] The genus Calochortus includes Mariposas (or Mariposa lilies) with open wedge-shaped petals, Globe lilies and Fairy lanterns with globe-shaped flowers, and Cat's ears and Star tulips with erect pointed petals. The word Calochortus is derived from Greek and means "beautiful grass".

Calochortus produce one or more flowers on a stem that arises from the bulb, generally in the spring or early summer. Unlike most other Liliaceae, Calochortus petals differ in size and color from their sepals.[1] Flowers can be white, yellow, pink, purple, bluish, or streaked. The insides of the petals are often highly hairy. These hairs, along with the nectaries, are often used in distinguishing species from each other.

Calochortus nuttallii, the Sego Lily, is the official state flower of Utah.

Habitat

In 1998, T.B. Patterson conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the genus, dividing it into seven main clades. The study indicated highly localized speciation, so that different clades were strongly linked to specific habitats, as follows:[3]

  • Mariposas: dry grasslands and semideserts
  • Star-tulips: wet meadows
  • Cat’s ears: montane woodlands
  • Fairy lanterns: closed forests.

Uses

The bulbs of many species were eaten by Native Americans. They were also eaten by the Mormon settlers in Utah during the first winter or two because of crop failures during the first few years of settlement in the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Species list

Calochortus catalinae
Calochortus catalinae
Calochortus clavatus
Calochortus clavatus
Calochortus flexuosus
Calochortus flexuosus
Calochortus gunnisonii var. perpulcher
Calochortus gunnisonii var. perpulcher
Calochortus plummerae
Calochortus plummerae
Calochortus plummerae in Santa Monica Mountains
Calochortus plummerae in Santa Monica Mountains

Notes

  1. a b Dale, Nancy; Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Capra Press, 1986; pg. 28
  2. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Plant Profile for Calochortus Pursh; Data contributed by John K. Kartesz and USDA-NRCS National Plant Data Center
  3. P. L. Fiedler & R. K. Zebell, Flora of North America; 18. Calochortus Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 240. 1814.

References

Gerritsen, Mary E and Parsons, R. Calochortus. Mariposa Lilies and Their Relatives. Timber Press, 2007.

External links


Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Calochortus". Image Credit.
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Topics by Level of Interest: Calochortus

Topics sorted by level of Interest Level (1=low, 600=high)     Topics sorted Alphabetically Level (1=low, 600=high)
Calochortus 20     Calochortus 20
Calochortus nuttallii 12     Calochortus caeruleus 4
Calochortus tiburonensis 6     Calochortus catalinae 5
Calochortus striatus 5     Calochortus clavatus 5
Calochortus plummerae 5     Calochortus flexuosus 5
Calochortus flexuosus 5     Calochortus luteus 5
Calochortus clavatus 5     Calochortus nuttallii 12
Calochortus catalinae 5     Calochortus plummerae 5
Calochortus luteus 5     Calochortus splendens 5
Calochortus splendens 5     Calochortus striatus 5
Calochortus caeruleus 4     Calochortus tiburonensis 6

Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses).