634 



CALOCHORTUS 



CALOCHORTUS 



21. Kennedy!, Porter. Bulb small and ovoid: st. 

 very low, 1-4 in. : Ivs. linear, tufted from the branching 

 of the st.: fls. 2-4, in an umbel; sepals broad with a 

 purple spot; petals red-orange to vermilion, not ciliate 

 nor prominently hairy, purple-spotted at the center. 

 Desert species of S. Calif. B.M. 7264. Gn. 43:108. 

 Brilliant and desirable, but difficult to grow. 



22. avlreus, Wats. Low, 4-6 in., with a single 

 carinate radical If.: petals yellow, not hairy, the hairy 

 gland purple-bordered. S. Utah. 



748. Calochortus obispoensis. No. 20 var. ( X J^) 



23. clavatus, Wats. Petals yellow lined with brown, 

 the lower part bearing club-shaped (clavate) hairs, 

 the gland deep and circular; anthers purple. Calif. 

 In this excellent sort we have the largest-fld. and stout- 

 est-stemmed of all mariposas. The bulb is very large, 

 the single bare If . 1 or 2 ft. long: the st. is heavy, stout 

 and zigzag. The fls. are shaped like a broad-based 

 bowl, sometimes 5 or 6 in. across. The color is a deep, 

 rich yellow, and the lower half is covered thickly with 

 stiff yellow hairs, each tipped with a round translucent 

 knob, and in the light look like tiny icicles. There are 

 various strains: Eldorado, the largest, not so deep 

 yellow; Ventura, very stout, deep yellow; Obispo, Like 

 the last, but the upper half of the back of each petal 

 is olive-brown, which shows through the deep yellow 

 of the inside, giving changeable shades. 



24. concolor, Purdy (C. luteus var. concolor, Baker). 

 Bulb large reddish: Ivs. narrow, glaucous: st. 1-2 ft., 

 umbellate, if more than 1-fld.; not zigzag; petals a 

 rich deep yellow, tending toward orange, lower third 

 densely hairy with long yellow hairs above an oblong 

 gland. A desert species of S. Calif. Much like C. clava- 

 tus in general aspect. 



25. Iftteus, Douglas. BUTTERFLY TULIP. St. 1-10- 

 fld., bulb-bearing near the base: Ivs. very narrow: 

 sepals narrow-lanceolate, with a brown spot; petals 

 2 in. or less long, yellow or orange, brown-lined, slightly 

 hairy below the middle, the gland densely hairy. Calif. 

 B.R. 1567. Variable. Some of the forms are sold as 

 C. venustus. 



Var. citrinus, Wats. (C. 

 Baker). Petals lemon-yellow, 



Var. oculatus, Wats. (C. 

 Hort.). Petals pale or white, 

 dark spot. 



Var. robustus, Purdy (C. 

 Hort.). A very bulbiferous 

 luridly tinged in browns and 

 and also one of the hardiest. 



venustus var. citrinus, 

 with a central brown spot. 



venustus var. oculatus, 

 lilac or yellowish, with a 



venustus var. robustus, 

 form having white fls. 

 purples. Very beautiful 



26. Vesta, Purdy. BUTTERFLY TULIP. Tall and large- 

 fld. with petals more narrowly cuneate than in C. luteus 

 var. oculatus, and the gland narrow and doubly lunate, 

 color from white tinged through lilac to pink and lilac- 

 purple; fl. often laciniately gashed, above the gland 

 bearing rich maroon pencilings and markings. N. W. 

 Calif, in adobe soil. One of the largest-fld., showiest 

 and most easily grown of mariposa tulips. Named by 

 its author in compliment to his wife. 



cc. Color prevailingly white or lilac, but sometimes run- 

 ning into yellows. 



27. venftstus, Benth. BUTTERFLY TULIP. Stout, 6-36 

 in.: petals white or pale lilac, with a reddish spot at 

 top, a brown-yellow center, and brown base: gland 

 large and oblong, usually densely hairy: caps. 1-2 3/ 

 in. long. Calif. B.R. 1669. F.S. 2:104. Gn. 46, p. 

 395. Very variable. The yellow forms (as var. sul- 

 phureus, Hort.) are often treated as forms of C. luteus. 

 To this group of calochortuses is properly applied the 

 Spanish name mariposa (butterfly), for their brilliantly 

 colored fls., with eye-like spots on each petal and 

 sepal, and other delicate markings with dots, lines and 

 hairs, which are strongly suggestive of the wings of a 

 brilliantly colored butterfly. Botanists have variously 

 divided this great group of allied forms between C. 

 luteus and C. venustus. Botanically all may be consid- 

 ered as either strains of one variable species or as a 

 number of closely allied species. 



Var. Eldorado, Purdy. The finest strain of C. ven- 

 ustus in cult. It occurs naturally in a wonderfully 

 varied mixture, in color from pure white through pink, 

 to deep glowing reds and through lilac to deep purples. 

 In one locality a few may vary to light yellow. Some 

 of these forms have been named var. pictus for the 

 white form, var. sanguineus for the blood-red. The pur- 

 ple forms are entirely distinct from C. venustus var. 

 purpurascens. Sierran foothills from Eldorado County 

 to the far South. Altogether these plants comprise the 

 loveliest group of the mariposa tulips. 



Var. purpurascens, Wats. Petals deep lilac or pur- 

 plish, darker at center, the fl. fully 3 in. across. Coast 

 Range. Strong grower. Gn. 46:394. 



Var. rdseus, Hort. (C. rbseus, Hort.). Creamy white 

 or lilac, with an eye midway and a rose-colored blotch 

 at apex. Gn. 46:394. 



Var. sulphureus, Purdy. Taller than the type: 

 petals light warm yellow with eye, and with a rose- 

 colored blotch at top. Lower part of San Joaquin 

 Valley, Calif. 



28. splendens, Douglas. Tall and slender, 1-2 ft. : fls. 

 1-1^ in. across, deep purple with a dark spot on the 

 claw and with or without a gland covered with matted 

 hairs. San Diego Co., Calif . Known in horticulture as 

 C. splendens var. atroviolaceus. 



Var. major, Purdy. Strong and tall, 1-2 ft.: fls. 2-3 

 in. across; petals large, clear lilac, paler below, with a 



