Box.— Vol. II.] PURDY—CALOCHORTUS. 137 



C. liiteus and C. vemcstus are the true Mariposa or Butter- 

 fly Tulips. It would be difficult to name any other group of 

 plants in which can be found such a wonderful diversity of 

 color and marking. The colors range from white through 

 lilac to purple, from delicate pink through light reds to deep 

 glowing reds; buffs, yellows and citrons are all present; 

 and the tintings, oculations, and blotchings are bewilder- 

 ingly numerous. 



Watson bases his division of the group on the differences 

 in the gland : that of C. lutcns being from transversely 

 oblong to narrowly lunate; that of C. venustus from round 

 to longitudinally oblong. While the casual observer would 

 place all together, Watson's division is a true one. In C. 

 luteiis the capsule is acuminate from a triangular base, in 

 C venustus, linear. 



28. Calochortus luteus Dougl. 



Plate XVI, Fig. 2. 



Calochortus luteus Dougl., Bot. Register, Vol. XIX, 1833, Tab. 1567. 



Plants usually dwarfish, 8-10 inches high, stem slender, stiffly erect, bul- 

 biferous at base, often branching; bulblets enclosed within sheath of stem; 

 radical leaves linear, channeled, 1-3 lines wide, bright green, slightly glau- 

 cous; cauline leaves or bracts linear, 1-3 inches long, peduncles 1-4 inches 

 long; sepals narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acute, 12 lines long, 2-3 lines wide, 

 yellowish within; petals cuneate, as long as broad, slightly rounding above, 

 yellow or tending toward orange, not oculated, but having penciled lines 

 radiating from gland to center of petal, claw broad; gland rather broad, 

 lunate, densely hairy with ascending matted yellow hairs, a very few scatter- 

 ing hairs above reaching to middle of petal; stamens about equalling style, 

 filaments slender, a little longer than the light yellow, oblong-linear, acute 

 anthers; mature capsule acuminate from a triangular base, i>^-2 inches long. 



The description is drawn from strong specimens collected 

 at Monterey. 



" California." 



The type described of C. luteus follows the coast-line 

 from Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) to San Diego 

 County. It grows in adobe soil and is dwarfish. Speci- 

 mens from Mendocino, San Francisco, Monterey, and San 

 Diego counties are exactly ahke. 



