''Brodiaea'' , also known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

cluster-lilies, is a

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomencla ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s. One school of thought places the genus in the family , while another school of thought places it in the subfamily

Brodiaeoideae Brodiaeoideae are a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. They have been treated as a separate family, Themidaceae. They are native to Central America and western North America, from British Columbi ...

of the family

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

.Jepson Herbarium, Jepson eFlora: ''Brodiaea'', family Themidaceae
. accessed 29 April 2016.Calflora: ''Brodiaea'', family Themidaceae
. accessed 1 May 2016. The

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Plants Database still classifies the genus ''Brodiaea'' in the family

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

. ''Brodiaea'' species occur along the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

region of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...

, from British Columbia throughout California into the Baja California Peninsula. They are especially common in

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers inc ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

''Brodiaea'' species are

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, growing from

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word '' ...

s. Between one and six narrow leaves are produced from the corm. The bare flowering stem ( scape) carries an

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

of flowers. Individual flowers have six blue to purple

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s, joined at the base to form a tube with free lobes at the mouth. The outer three tepal lobes are narrower than the inner three. In almost all species, inside the tepals and joined to their bases are three sterile stamens (

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s), resembling small petals, each opposite one of the outer tepals. Three normal

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are also joined to the bases of the tepals and are placed opposite the inner ones. The base of the filaments of the stamens may be expanded into various shapes, such as flaps or wings. The size and shape of the staminodes and of the structures at the base of the filaments are important diagnostic characters. The compound pistil is formed of three

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils' ...

s forming a superior

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

with three

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

s. The style which emerges between the three stamens has a three-lobed stigma. The seeds are black.

Taxonomy

Nomenclature

The origin of the scientific name of the genus is somewhat tangled. Specimens of what is now called ''Brodiaea'' were first collected by

Archibald Menzies Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. He was the first recorded Europe ...

, botanist to the

Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...

, in 1792. Menzies collected the plant from the vicinity of the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

, named "New Georgia" by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

. The first published reference to the plant did not give it a name. This was in James Edward Smith's 1807 ''An introduction to physiological and systematical botany'', where Smith used it to argue that the

s of liliaceous plants are

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s rather than

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

s: The following year, early in 1808, Richard Salisbury published a description of the first ''Brodiaea'' species in ''

The Paradisus Londinensis ''The Paradisus Londonensis'' (full title ''The Paradisus Londonensis : or Coloured Figures of Plants Cultivated in the Vicinity of the Metropolis'') is a book dated 1805–1808, printed by D.N. Shury, and published by William Hooker.. It consis ...

'', naming it ''Hookera coronaria'', the genus name being in honour of the illustrator William Hooker. Shortly afterwards, Smith named a moss genus '' Hookeria'', and in April 1808, he read to the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

a formal description of a new genus, based on the same species as Salisbury's ''Hookera coronaria'', naming the genus ''Brodiaea'' in honour of Scottish botanist James Brodie. Formal publication did not occur, however, until Smith's presentation went to print in 1810. George Boulger, writing in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', says that Smith's actions were deliberately intended to deprive Salisbury of credit for the genus. If this was Smith's intention it was successful, since although Salisbury's genus name ''Hookera'' has priority over Smith's name ''Brodiaea'', names as similar as ''Hookera'' and ''Hookeria'' are considered to be confusing and a formal proposal to conserve the names ''Brodiaea'' and ''Hookeria'' over the name ''Hookera'' was accepted. ''Brodiaea'' is thus a "conserved name" or "''nomen conservandum''", shown by the abbreviation "''nom. cons.''" after the name in botanical sources. The type species is now ''

Brodiaea coronaria ''Brodiaea coronaria'' is the type species of ''Brodiaea'' and also known by the common names harvest brodiaea and crown brodiaea. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountains an ...

'', and the original type, ''Brodiaea grandiflora'' Sm., is an illegitimate name.

Phylogeny and classification

''Brodiaea'' belongs to a group of 12 genera whose affinities were the subject of much controversy until the end of the 20th century. Salisbury treated them as a family which he named Themidaceae. Others placed this group at lower

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. While old ...

and usually included them in

Alliaceae Allioideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. It was formerly treated as a separate family, Alliaceae. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, ''Allium''. ...

, or

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fam ...

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies confirmed the suspicions of many that this group was misplaced, and consequently, the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

Themidaceae was resurrected in 1996. When the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disco ...

published the

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...

in 2003, Themidaceae was accepted as an optional family for those who wanted to

circumscribe In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

families narrowly in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Asparagales Asparagales (asparagoid lilies) is an order of plants in modern classification systems such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the type family Asparagaceae and is placed ...

. When the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

was published in 2009, the former Themidaceae was treated as a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoolog ...

, Brodiaeoideae, of the family

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

. Some sources, such as

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

, continue to use the

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conve ...

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

of obsolete

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...

systems. Other sources, such as the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Website The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (or APweb) is a website dedicated to research on angiosperm phylogeny and taxonomy. The site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden website and maintained by researchers, Peter F. Stevens and Hilary M. Davis ...

mostly follow the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. Brodiaea (or brodeia) is also used as a common name to refer to three genera, ''Brodiaea'', ''

Dichelostemma ''Dichelostemma'' is a genus of North American plants closely related to the genus ''Brodiaea'' and sometimes regarded as part of that group. ''Dichelostemma'' is classified in the cluster-lily subfamily within the asparagus family. in the la ...

'', and '' Triteleia''. The latter two genera were once included as part of the genus ''Brodiaea''. The

monophyly In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

of ''Brodiaea'' as presently defined is not entirely certain. It might be intermixed with ''Dichelostemma''.

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...

lists the following 17 species.Search for "Brodiaea", USDA Plants Profile for ''Brodiaea'' − "Subordinate Taxa" tab
. accessed 29 April 2016. English common names are from the ''Flora of North America''. # ''

Brodiaea appendiculata ''Brodiaea appendiculata'', the appendage brodiaea or appendage cluster-lily,) is an uncommon species of plant in the genus ''Brodiaea''. ''Brodiaea appendiculata'' is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defin ...

'' Hoover - appendage cluster-lily - central California # ''

Brodiaea californica ''Brodiaea californica'', with the common name California brodiaea, is a species of plant in the genus ''Brodiaea''. The perennial plant, growing from a bulb, is native to California and Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pac ...

'' Lindl. ex Lem. - California cluster-lily - northern California, southwestern Oregon # ''

'' (Salisb.) Jeps. - harvest cluster-lily; Californian hyacinth - British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, much of California # '' Brodiaea elegans'' Hoover - elegant cluster-lily - western Oregon, most of California # '' Brodiaea filifolia'' S.Watson - threadleaf cluster-lily - southern California # '' Brodiaea insignis'' (Jeps.) Niehaus - Kaweah cluster-lily -

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...

# '' Brodiaea jolonensis'' Eastw. - chaparral cluster-lily - southern California, northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

# ''

Brodiaea kinkiensis ''Brodiaea kinkiensis'' is a species of '' Brodiaea'' also with the common name San Clemente Island brodiaea. This flower is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. This flower is not considered endangered, bu ...

'' Niehaus - San Clemente Island cluster-lily -

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered ...

# '' Brodiaea matsonii'' R.E.Preston -

Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...

# '' Brodiaea minor'' (Benth.) S.Watson (syn. ''Brodiaea purdyi'' Eastw.) - vernalpool cluster-lily - northern California # '' Brodiaea nana'' Hoover - northern California # '' Brodiaea orcuttii'' (Greene) Baker - Orcutt's cluster-lily - southern California, northern

# '' Brodiaea pallida'' Hoover - Chinese Camp cluster-lily - Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties # '' Brodiaea santarosae'' T.J.Chester - Santa Rosa basalt brodiaea -

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

Counties # '' Brodiaea sierrae'' R.E.Preston -

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word meani ...

, Yuba and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Counties # '' Brodiaea stellaris'' S.Watson - starflower cluster-lily - Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt Counties # '' Brodiaea terrestris'' Kellogg - dwarf cluster-lily - southwestern Oregon and much of coastal and southern California ;formerly included Numerous other names have been coined using the name ''Brodiaea,'' referring to species now regarded as better suited to other genera ''( Androstephium Beauverdia Dandya

Leucocoryne

Nothoscordum ''Nothoscordum'' is a genus of New World plants in the onion tribe within the Amaryllis family. It is probably paraphyletic.Michael F. Fay, Paula J. Rudall, and Mark W. Chase. 2006. "Molecular studies of subfamily Gilliesioideae (Alliaceae)". ' ...

Tristagma Triteleia Triteleiopsis).''

Distribution and habitat

''Brodiaea'' species are confined to western North America, from British Columbia in the north, through the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U. ...

region, to northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the south. The majority of species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to California. Many are adapted to

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially antig ...

s or other soils with particular chemical compositions, resulting in limited distributions and several rare and endangered species. An example is '' Brodiaea pallida'', known only from two populations along the border between

Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises th ...

and

Calaveras County, California Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angel ...

Cultivation

A number of species of ''Brodiaea'' are in cultivation. Species such as '' B. californica'' and '' B. coronaria'' are recommended for sunny positions in the garden, where they extend the flowering season of most ornamental bulbs, flowering in early summer rather than in spring. The flower heads (

s) of larger species can be dried for use as winter decorations. Smaller species, such as '' B. terrestris'', may be grown in a

bulb frame In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from adverse weather, primarily excessive cold or wet. The transparent top admits sunlight and prevents heat escape via c ...

alpine house A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

. pp. 19–21.

References

Bibliography

External links

Calflora Database: ''Brodiaea'' speciesJepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Brodiaea''USDA Plants Profile for ''Brodiaea'' species (brodiaea)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1894962 Asparagaceae genera Flora of California