Calochortus species S are found on this page.
Calochortus species A-B -- Calochortus species C-D -- Calochortus species E-Lo -- Calochortus species Lu-N -- Calochortus species O-R -- Calochortus species T-U -- Calochortus species V-Z -- Calochortus hybrids -- Calochortus index
Calochortus simulans is native to the Coast Ranges of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, California. It has white petals, often pink on the outside, with the gland surrounded by bright red and a small red spot immediately above it. It grows in hot arid territory where it is frequently found in grassy meadows, but also in chaparral. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner
Calochortus spatulatus is one of the Mexican species, section Cyclobothra, subsection Purpurei. It is commonly known as "Campanita" (little bell). The name refers to the petals which are often spatula shaped when flattened, and in profile, have a spoon like shape. This species has glaucous stems that are 30-75 cm tall and carry two to four nodding, deep, bell shaped 2-2.5 cm flowers. It has quite a wide range, found as north as Chihuahua and south to Guerrero and Oaxaca (elevations 1200-2200m). It is usually found in open subtropical woodlands and can be quite abundant where found. The photos shown here are from Toluca de Temascaltepec, State of Mexico, and were taken in September, 2007. Photos by Mary Gerritsen.
Calochortus splendens is native to the foothills of coastal central and southern California. Flowers are lavender, often with a purple spot near the base of each sepal and sometimes with a similar spot on each petal above the gland. There are long scattered hairs on the lower third or fourth. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller and Alan Horstmann.
Calochortus striatus is an uncommon species, occurring in low rainfall areas of southern California. Where it does occur, it is usually in vernally wet meadows, seeps and depressions, in semidesert and desert habitats, elevation 800-1400m. The photo below by Ron Parsons, shows a nice cluster of plants in bloom in Kern County, California.
Calochortus subalpinus is found from southwest Washington south to central Oregon. It is found in a number of habitats, including dry meadows, alpine meadows, coniferous woodlands, and open screes. The photos below were taken at the summit of Burnt Mountain, Oregon (near Roseburg) in late May 2007. Photos by Mary Gerritsen
Calochortus superbus grows in grassy clay meadows, level or sloped, occasionally into very open grassy woodlands. It is often found growing in serpentine. Its range is the Sierra Nevada and the North Coast Ranges and the Palomar Mountains in San Diego county. It is usually a creamy white with deep red-brown penciling marks at the base and a reddish brown or purple blotch surrounded by bright yellow. In the wild are pink or lavender varieties as well. The gland is an inverted v. The first three photos from Mary Sue Ittner and the next two of dramatically marked flowers from Alan Horstmann.
Photos from John Longanecker of Calochortus superbus obtained commercially growing in his dry garden. The second is a form called 'Symphony' taken June 2006 and the last a grouping at sunset taken at the same time.
These two Calochortus superbus plants were purchased in the same pot at an East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden plant sale. One is purple, one yellow, and they both display the chevron-shaped nectary (easiest to see in the purple form, under the splotch). Photos by Max Withers.
In the wild a number of plants have been observed that resemble this species, especially in color, but with glands that are different from the inverted v. In the July 1999 Mariposa (the newsletter of the Calochortus Society) five variants were described. A population seen in Kern county April 2005 growing right next to the road in the drainage area fit the description for one of these variants, a lunate (inverted crescent) gland with a relatively narrow inverted arc. Whether these plants are intergrade with C. luteus is not clear as that species was not observed nearby. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Two other gland variants described in this newsletter were a gland that is a bit like a squiggle across the lower petals and a quasi-square gland. The plant pictured below seen near Lake Isabella in Kern County we at first thought could have been Calochortus venustus, but perhaps it is C. superbus with another variant of the gland.
Calochortus syntrophus, a new species discovered in 1993 in Shasta County, California, grows in thinly grassy open woodland at the edges of gullies or under or close to small oak trees. It is white with half of the petal yellow with a reddish brown blotch. The gland is concave-elliptical. The first two photos below by Mary Sue Ittnerwere taken of plants blooming for the first time from seed. The last photo below by Mary Gerritsen is of plants at the site of the type collection, June 2007
Calochortus species A-B -- Calochortus species C-D -- Calochortus species E-Lo -- Calochortus species Lu-N -- Calochortus species O-R -- Calochortus species T-U -- Calochortus species V-Z -- Calochortus hybrids -- Calochortus index
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