''Triteleia'' is a genus of

monocotyledon 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 ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s also known as triplet lilies. The 16 species are native to western North America, from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

south to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and east to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, with one species in 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 Guate ...

. However they are most common in

. They are

perennial plant 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 ...

s growing from a fibrous

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 ...

, 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 dis ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

revision placed the genus in

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. Idea ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

(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''. I ...

. Both these families are in the order

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 in t ...

. There are currently 16 recognized

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in ''Triteleia''. One species, ''Triteleia ixioides'', has five well-defined subspecies. Varieties and subspecies 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 ''Triteleia montana'' is a monocotyledon, monocot flowering plant in the genus ''Triteleia''. Its common names include Sierra triteleia, and mountain triteleia. It is Endemism, endemic to California, where it is limited to the Sierra Nevada (U.S. ...

and

Triteleia lemmoniae ''Triteleia lemmoniae'', common names Oak Creek triteleia, Lemmon's star or Oak Creek triplet lily, is a plant species now classed in the family Asparagaceae, although older classifications would have regarded it part of the Liliaceae. ''Tritel ...

Triteleia peduncularis ''Triteleia peduncularis'' is a monocot flowering plant in the genus '' Triteleia''. Its common names include long-ray brodiaea and longray triteleia. It is endemic to California, where it occurs in the coastal and inland mountain ranges of t ...

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 fou ...

, 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 coni ...

Triteleia grandiflora ''Triteleia grandiflora'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names largeflower triteleia, largeflower tripletlily, and wild hyacinth. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to extreme northern California, eas ...

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

References

Jepson treatment

Sources

* Asparagaceae genera {{Asparagaceae-stub