''Triteleia'' is a genus of

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

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 ...

s also known as triplet lilies. The 16 species are native to western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

south to

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 east to

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, with one species in northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. However, they are most common in

. They are

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s growing from a fibrous

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 ...

roughly spherical in shape. They get their name from the fact that all parts of their flowers come in threes.

Taxonomy and systematics

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 disc ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

revision placed the genus in

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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''. This family includes both ...

, 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 Colum ...

(having previously placed treated Brodiaeoideae as a separate family Themidaceae). Other modern authors place it in the family

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''. ...

. Both these families are in the order

Asparagales Asparagales (asparagoid lilies) are a diverse order of flowering plants in the monocots. Under the APG IV system of flowering plant classification, Asparagales are the largest order of monocots with 14 families, 1,122 genera, and about 36,00 ...

. There are currently 16 recognized

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in ''Triteleia''. One species, ''Triteleia ixioides'', has five well-defined subspecies.

Varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

and

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

have been proposed within several other ''Triteleia'' species, but these are no longer widely accepted. Some common species that are now placed in genus ''Triteleia'' were formerly placed in genus ''

Brodiaea ''Brodiaea'' , also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants. One school of thought places the genus in the family , while another school of thought places it in the subfamily Brodiaeoideae of the family ...

'', and as a consequence the word "brodiaea" has been incorporated into some of their common names. Triteleia ixioides scabra 2

* ''Triteleia'' × ''versicolor'' – Pinto triplet lily – a sterile hybrid believed to be ''T. hyacinthina'' × ''T. ixioides'', recorded only from the type specimen collected in 1935 at Whaler's Knoll in Point Lobos State Park, Monterey County A 2002 phylogenetic review of related genera found four clades within ''Triteleia'' that were all supported with 100 percent

jackknife resampling In statistics, the jackknife (jackknife cross-validation) is a cross-validation technique and, therefore, a form of resampling. It is especially useful for bias and variance estimation. The jackknife pre-dates other common resampling methods suc ...

values: * '' Triteleia montana'' and '' Triteleia lemmoniae'' * ''

Triteleia peduncularis ''Triteleia peduncularis'' is a monocotyledon, monocot flowering plant in the genus ''Triteleia''. Its common names include long-ray brodiaea and longray triteleia. It is Endemism, endemic to California, where it occurs in the coastal and inland ...

'', ''

Triteleia laxa ''Triteleia laxa'' (previously ''Brodiaea laxa'') is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear, common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally foun ...

'', and ''

Triteleia bridgesii The triplet lily ''Triteleia bridgesii'' (previously ''Brodiaea bridgesii'') is known by the common name Bridges' brodiaea. It is found in the foothills and low elevation mountains of California and Oregon, often in areas of serpentine soil. It ...

'' * ''

Triteleia hyacinthina ''Triteleia hyacinthina'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names white brodiaea, white tripletlily, hyacinth brodiaea, and fool's onion. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to central Californi ...

'' and ''

Triteleia ixioides ''Triteleia ixioides'', known as prettyface or golden star, is a monocotyledon flowering plant in the genus ''Triteleia''. It is native to northern and central California and southwestern Oregon, where it can be found in coastal and inland conif ...

'' * ''

Triteleia grandiflora ''Triteleia grandiflora'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names largeflower triteleia, largeflower tripletlily, and wild hyacinth. Description ''Triteleia grandiflora'' is a perennial herb growing from a corm. It produces t ...

'', ''

Triteleia crocea ''Triteleia crocea'', with the common names yellow triteleia and yellow tripletlily, is a monocot flowering plant in the genus ''Triteleia''. Distribution The plant is native to northern California and into southern Oregon. It occurs in the Kla ...

'', and ''

Triteleia hendersonii ''Triteleia hendersonii'', commonly known as Henderson's triteleia, Henderson's stars, or yellow tiger-lily, is a species of flowering plant native to the Pacific Northwest, occurring in Southern Oregon and Northern California. A variety ''Trite ...

References

Jepson treatment

Sources

* Asparagaceae genera {{Asparagaceae-stub