General:
Perennial herb from a deep, papery-scaled, egg-shaped bulb; flowering stems usually erect, 10-50 cm tall, occasionally branched, smooth.
Leaves:
Basal leaf single, linear, flat, 10-30 cm long, 2-20 mm wide, shorter than the stem, smooth, tapering to both ends, sheathing at the base, the margins entire; stem leaves single, bract-like, about at midpoint.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster of 1 to 4, erect or spreading, stalked flowers, above 2 or more narrowly lanceolate, unequal bracts; flowers white, often tinged with purple, bell- to bowl-shaped; petals 3, distinct, egg-shaped to lanceolate, 2-2.5 cm long, short-clawed, fringed with long hairs on the margins, pimply-surfaced and sparsely bearded on the inside on the lower half above the claws, the nectar gland arching upward, a purple crescent above the gland; sepals lanceolate with long-tapering tips nearly as long as the petals, smooth; stamens 6, anthers tapering to pointed tips; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits:
Capsules, ellipsoid, 1.5-2 cm long; 3-winged, erect; seeds many, straw-coloured.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
1847 | 1090 | 2145 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
44 | 15 | 75 |
Aspect (degrees) |
181 | 90 | 282 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 1 | 4 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
9 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
|||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
|||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
---|---|---|---|
Native | S3 | Blue | SC (May 2011) |
The only look-alike is the white-flowered Calochortus apiculatus, which is larger and lacks the moon-shaped spot at the base of the petal. C. apiculatus also has hanging capsules, while C. lyallii capsules are upright. However, C. apiculatus has apparently not been found in sympatry with Canadian (BC) populations of C. lyallii (Miller et al 2004).
Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre |