 |
Mariposa lily family, Calochortaceae
Ownbey, writing about the Calochortus noted that “despite
the quantities of bulbs that have been dug in the wild . . . not a single
species [has] been established in cultivation successfully” (Hitchcock
et al, Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest, 1972). Enjoy these
plants where they grow!
Elegant mariposa lily, Calochortus
elegans Pursh (left) is
a small flower that only measures about an inch across. The plant was first
collected by Meriwether Lewis on May 17, 1806, near today's Kamiah, Idaho.
He brought the dried specimen back to the United States where botanist Frederick
Pursh recognized that the plant was new to science. He coined the name
Calochortus (from two Greek words meaning “beautiful plant”)
for a new genus, giving the plant the scientific name that it has today.
|
|
 |
White mariposa lily, Calochortus
eurycarpus S. Watson (left,
also star tulip) has a deep purple spot oneach petal adjacent to a basal,
bristle-lined, yellow to green “gland.” The petals are delta-shaped;
the sepals are only a little longer than the petals. Great numbers appear
in early to mid-summer in our mountains, almost to treeline. This species
name means “broad seed,” from the Greek. This plant is known
regionally as a “sego lily,” although the true sego lily
is Calochortus nuttallii, the Utah state flower.
Sagebrush mariposa lily, Calochortus
macrocarpus
Douglas (right) is a foothill plant that blooms
in mid- to late summer on dry sagebrush slopes, south of the Clearwater
River drainage. The species name means “long fruit” for the shape
of the fruit. The three petals and three sepals are the same color, ranging
from almost white to lavender. Its narrow sepals are noticeably longer than
the petals; the latter are ovoid with pointed tips. A green band sometimes
runs down the center of each petal ( more prominent on the back), ending
at a rounded basal gland fringed with a border of bright yellow to greenish
hairs. |
 |
 |
Lily family, Liliaceae
Fairy bells, Prosartes
trachycarpa S.
Watson (left, right) grow in the shade of evergreen forests
at higher altitudes. They are easily identified by their wide, parallel-veined
leaves and long-stalked lily-like, paired flowers . The ovaries mature into
bright red, irregularly shaped berries, said to be edible, but tasteless.
Until recently this plant was classified as Disporum trachycarpum.
|
 |
 |
Clintonia, Clintonia uniflora
(Menzies ex Schultes) Kunth (right,left). Clintonias
(also "bead-lilies") are shade-loving, montane to subalpine plants
with a six-tepaled, single white flower (uniflora). Their stems arise
from a cluster of two or more wide, rather leathery leaves. Each plant bears
one blue berry. The name, Clintonia, honors amateur naturalist DeWitt
Clinton (1769-1828), known for his political career as a senator, presidential
candidate, promoter of steam navigation, and governor of New York. |
 |
 |
Yellow bell, Fritillaria pudica
(Pursh) Spreng. (left, right) Yellow-bells bloom in
April at lower elevations and well into June higher up, as single plants,
or in small groups. Narrow, twisted leaves appear first, followed by six-tepaled,
yellow-orange flowers. The species name, pudica, means
“modest,” for the shy, downward facing
flowers. Fritillaria was derived from a Latin word for
“dice-box,” presumably for the seed-containing capsule (right).
Lewis and Clark collected the plant on the Clearwater River (May 8,
1806). |
 |
 |
Checker lily Fritillaria
affinis (Schultes)
Sealy (left), and Chocolate lily,
Fritillaria atropurpurea Nutt. (right). These two
plants are clearly related, although their ranges differ. Both bloom about
a month later than the yellow-bell shown above. The chocolate lily grows
in the southern half of Idaho; the checker lily grows in the northern half.
Neither plant is particularly common and finding one is a cause for comment.
Fritillaries are sometimes called “rice-roots” for a myriad of
tiny bulblets attached to a main bulb. Lewis and Clark collected Fritillaria
affinis while ascending the Columbia River (April 10, 1806). |
 |
 |
Clasping-leaf twisted-stalk, Streptopus
amplexicaulis (L.)
DC. (left, right). The twisted-stalk’s stem zigzags
from one leaf node to the next as reflected in its generic name,
Streptopus (from the Greek meaning “twisted foot”) and its
stemless leaves clasp the main stem (amplexicaulis means "stem-clasping").
Dependent white flowers have reflexed (turned back) tepals. Its oval red
berries, confusingly, are described as both edible and poisonous, according
to which guide-book one consults. The plants grow at subalpine elevations
in our mountains, usually in the deep shade of evergreen forests. |
 |
 |
Common alpine lily, Lloydia serotina
(L.) Reichenb. (left). The alp lily (also known simply
as a “lloydia”) is found in the mountains of many of the
western states as well as in the mountains of Eurasia; it is a true alpine
plant. A few narrow, inconspicuous leaves and yellow-anthered, white, six-tepaled
flowers less than a quarter of an inch across identify the plant as a lloydia.
It was named for Edward Lloyd (1660-1709), Welsh author, naturalist, and
curator of the Ashmolean Library of Oxford University, who discovered this
plant in Wales and recognized that alpine flora grew above treeline in the
Welsh mountains. The scientific species name, serotina, means
“late” or “autumnal”; a strange choice, for the flowers
bloom while there is snow on surrounding slopes.
Glacier lily, Erythronium
grandiflorum Pursh
var. grandiflorum (right). As with other well-loved
and widely distributed plants, this one has many common names: glacier lily,
avalanche lily, trout lily, dog-tooth violet, fawn lily, adder’s tongue
and others. Although we have not seen it growing south of Lemhi Pass (30
miles south-east of Salmon),it also occurs in the mountains of the southeastern
part of the state. Lewis and Clark collected the glacier lily near their
Kooskooskee (Clearwater) River campsite on May 8, 1806 and later on the Lolo
Trail. A related white variety, var. candidum Piper, grows in northern
Idaho. |
 |