''Triteleia crocea'', with the common names yellow triteleia and yellow tripletlily, is a

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the genus ''

Triteleia ''Triteleia'' is a genus of monocotyledon flowering plants also known as triplet lilies. The 16 species are native to western North America, from British Columbia south to California and east to Wyoming and Arizona, with one species in northwest ...

''.

Distribution

The plant is native to northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and into southern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It occurs in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

and the southernmost slopes of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. Its habitats include Yellow pine forests.

Description

''Triteleia crocea'' is a perennial herb growing from a

corm 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 ''c ...

. It produces two or three leaves up to 40 centimeters long by one wide. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

arises on an erect stem up to 30 centimeters tall. It is an

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

-like cluster of many flowers each borne on a slender

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. The flowers are usually bright yellow but some specimens from the Trinity Mountains have light blue corollas. They may have green stripes. The corolla has six lobes one half to one centimeter long and six

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s with yellow or blue anthers. The bloom period is May and June.

Varieties

Varieties include *''Triteleia crocea'' var. ''crocea'' — Yellow triteleia, listed

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

. *''Triteleia crocea'' var. ''modesta'' — Trinity Mountains pretty face, endemic to Trinity Mountains, listed Vulnerable species.Calflora: ''Triteleia crocea'' var. ''modesta''
/ref>

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Triteleia crocea'' (Yellow triplet lily, Yellow triteleia)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Triteleia crocea''USDA Plants Profile for ''Triteleia crocea'' (yellow triteleia)UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Triteleia crocea''
crocea Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asparagaceae-stub