FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS OF ARIZONA 195 



Key to the species 



1. Stem usually decumbent and flexuous, often branched; inflorescence, if more 

 than 1 -flowered, with a distinct main axis (monochasialj ; petal gland not 

 depressed (rarely slightly so), not surrounded by a membranaceous border, 



transversely elongate to nearly circular 1. C. flexo 



1. Stem erect or nearly so, usually simple; inflorescence subumbellate; petal gland 

 more or less depressed, surrounded by a membranaceous border (2). 

 2. Petal gland not transversely elongate, the bordering membrane broad, usu- 

 ally continuous (3). 

 3. Hairs of the petals near the gland slender: petals whitish, purple, or yellow; 

 stem often bearing bulblets toward the base 2. C. xuttallii. 



3. Hairs of the petals thickened apically; petals yellow to nearly scarlet; 



stem rarely bulbiferous 3. C. kexxedyi. 



2. Petal gland usually elongate transversely, the bordering membrane narrow, 

 discontinuous; petals whitish to deep lavender purple, the hairs thickened 

 apically and often branched (4 . 



4. Anthers obtuse or (exceptionally) acutish; petal gland only slightly 



elongate transversely, or nearly circular; stem often bulbiferous 



toward the base 4. C. ambiguus. 



4. Anthers acute or acuminate; petal gland distinctly elongate transversely; 

 stem rarely bulbiferous 5. C. guxxisoxii. 



1. Calochortus flexuosus S. Wats., Amer. Xat. 7:303. 1873. 

 Coconino and Mohave Counties, south to the Pinal and Mazatzal 



Mountains (Gila County), 1,800 to 7,000 feet, open ground or in 

 chaparral, April to June. Southwestern Colorado to southeastern 

 California and central Arizona. 



Petals pale purple to nearly white. The bent or twisted stems are 

 characteristic. 



2. Calochortus nuttallii Torr. and Gray, U. S. Rpt. Expl. Miss. Pacif. 



2: 124. 1855. 



Apache County to northern Mohave County and eastern Yavapai 

 County, 5,000 to 8,000 feet, mesas, slopes, and open pine forests, 

 May to July. Western North Dakota to eastern Oregon, south to 

 Nebraska, northern New Mexico and Arizona, and eastern California. 



Sego-lily, the State flower of Utah. The typical form, with whitish 

 to lavender-blue petals, is known in Arizona only from the Kaibab 

 Plateau and the Grand Canyon (Coconino County), and from the 

 mountains of northern Mohave County. The var. aureus (S. Wats.) 

 Ownbey (C. aureus S. Wats.), with lemon-yellow petals, occurs in 

 Apache, Navajo, and eastern Coconino Counties, and is known 

 elsewhere only from northwestern Xew Mexico and southern Utah. 



3. Calochortus kennedyi Porter, Bot. Gaz. 2: 79. 1877. 



Yavapai and Mohave Counties, south to Cochise, Pima, Santa 

 Cruz, and Yuma Counties, 5,000 feet or (usually) lower, March to 

 May. Arizona, Nevada, southern California, and northern Sonora. 



Desertmariposa. In favorable seasons and localities this plant 

 gives a gorgeous display of color, rivaling that of the California poppy 

 (Eschscholtzia). The usual color of the petals is a deep rich orange, 

 but in var. munzii Jepson they are clear yellow. This form is 

 occasional in most parts of the range of the species. 



