Triteleia lemmoniae

Leaves 10-40 cm × 2-6 mm. Scape 8-30 cm, smooth or scabrous near base; bracts purplish. Flowers: perianth bright yellow to deep orange, fading to purple, 9-12 mm, tube turbinate, 2.5-3 mm, lobes ascending to slightly spreading, 7-9 mm, 2-3 times longer than tube; stamens attached at 1 level, equal; filaments linear, 3 mm, apical appendages absent; anthers yellow, 2 mm; ovary 3 times longer than stipe; pedicel 0.7-2.5 cm.

Flowering spring--summer (late May--Aug). Yellow pine belts, mountains; 1000--3000 m; Ariz.

Triteleia lemmoniae is the only representative of the genus in Arizona. Molecular data suggest that it is related to T. montana, found in the Sierra Nevada of California (J. C. Pires 2000), and not to the morphologically similar T. hyacinthina (R. F. Hoover 1941).

General: Perennial, plants scapose, the scape 8-30 cm tall, smooth or scabrous towards the base; corms fibrous-coated. 1 or 2, basal, alternate, linear, 10-40 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, or more often keeled or channeled, glabrous. Leaves: Numerous, alternate, ovate to broadly elliptic, the uppermost lanceolate to lance-linear, 20-40 cm long, 15- 25 cm wide, progressively reduced upwards, strongly veined, plicate (plaited, like a folding fan), glabrous or veins sparsely short-hairy above, glabrous to tomentose below, base strongly sheathing, often clasping; blades sessile. Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, with 1-2 flowers; perianth narrowly campanulate; tepals narrowly oblanceolate, 8-15 mm long, creamy-white to greenish white; stamens mostly exserted; flowers May-June. Fruits: Loculicidal capsule, ovoid, short-stipitate; seeds nearly spherical, black. Ecology: Partially shaded sites, pine forests, montane habitats; 1500-2400 m (5000-8000 ft); Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, and Yavapai counties; only in Arizona. Notes: Triteleia lemmoniae may be confused with Allium spp., but the latter may be distinguished by their more-or-less distinct perianth segments and onion odor. Ethnobotany: unknown Editor: Springer et al. 2008