Anticlea elegans

Last updated

Mountain deathcamas
Anticlea elegans (Glacier National Park, Montana - 2006).jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Anticlea
Species:
A. elegans
Binomial name
Anticlea elegans
Subspecies
  • A. elegans subsp. elegans
  • A. elegans subsp. glauca(Nutt.) A.Haines
  • A. elegans subsp. vaginata(Rydb.) Palmquist & T.J.Ayers
Synonyms [3] [4] [5] [6]
  • Zigadenus elegans
    Pursh
A. elegans subsp. elegans synonymy
  • Anticlea alpina
    (Blank.) A.Heller, 1910
  • Anticlea chlorantha
    (Richardson) Rydb., 1903
  • Anticlea coloradensis
    (Rydb.) Rydb., 1903
  • Anticlea gracilenta
    (Greene) R.R.Gates, 1918
  • Anticlea longa
    (Greene) A.Heller, 1910
  • Anticlea mohinorensis
    (Greenm.) R.R.Gates, 1918
  • Gomphostylis bracteata
    (Sims) Raf., 1837
  • Helonias bracteata
    Sims, 1815
  • Melanthium hultgreenii
    Thunb., 1819
  • Zigadenus alpinus
    Blank., 1905
  • Zigadenus bracteatus
    (Sims) Sweet, 1826
  • Zigadenus canadensis
    Baker, 1879
  • Zigadenus chloranthus
    Richardson in J.Franklin, 1823
  • Zigadenus chloranthus var. major
    Hook., 1838
  • Zigadenus chloranthus var. minor
    Hook. & Arn., 1840
  • Zigadenus coloradensis
    Rydb., 1900
  • Zigadenus commutatus
    Schult. & Schult.f. in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, 1830
  • Zigadenus dilatatus
    Greene, 1901
  • Zigadenus elegans var. coloradensis
    (Rydb.) M.E.Jones, 1910
  • Zigadenus gracilentus
    Greene, 1901
  • Zigadenus longus
    Greene, 1901
  • Zigadenus mohinorensis
    Greenm., 1903
  • Zigadenus speciosus
    Douglas ex Hook, 1838
  • Zigadenus speciosus var. minor
    Greene, 1894
  • Zigadenus washakie
    A.Nelson, 1926
A. elegans subsp. glauca synonymy
  • Anticlea elegans var. glauca
    (Nutt.) Zomlefer & Judd, 2009
  • Anticlea glauca
    (Nutt.) Kunth, 1843
  • Evonyxis glauca
    (Nutt.) Raf., 1837
  • Leimanthium glaucum
    (Nutt.) Schult. & Schult.f. in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, 1830
  • Melanthium glaucum
    Nutt., 1818
  • Zigadenus elegans subsp. glaucus
    (Nutt.) Hultén, 1973
  • Zigadenus elegans var. glaucus
    (Nutt.) Preece in H.A.Gleason & A.Cronquist, 1991
  • Zigadenus glaucus
    (Nutt.) Nutt., 1834
A. elegans subsp. vaginata synonymy
  • Anticlea vaginata
    Rydb., 1912
  • Zigadenus vaginatus
    (Rydb.) J.F.Macbr., 1918

Anticlea elegans, commonly known as mountain deathcamas, elegant camas, or glaucous death-camas, is a trillium-relative in the flowering plant family Melanthiaceae. Three distinct subspecies are included Anticlea elegans subsp. elegans, the type subspecies, plus Anticlea elegans subsp. glauca and Anticlea elegans subsp. vaginata. Anticlea elegans subsp. vaginata is likely a result of a vicariance event at the end of the Pleistocene and the populations are genetically drifting apart. Glacial refugia in at least five US states have formerly hosted populations of Anticlea elegans subsp. glauca, though two are now extirpated. The species is native to most of North America, being absent from California and the Baja California peninsula, the deep southeastern United States, and the far north of Canada. Little is known about the species pollinators, with a small population in Idaho documented to be likely pollinated mostly by flies.

Contents

Description

Morphology

It has white lily-like flowers and two-pronged, greenish-yellow heart shaped glands on each petal (the shape of which can help in distinguishing it from other members of the genus). Plants on the western side of the continent tend to be smaller in size than their eastern counterparts, but have more densely clustered flowers. [7] The linear leaves are smooth in texture and sprout mostly from base of the plant, with average lengths between 1 and 2.5 cm (0.39 and 0.98 in) and a maximum width of 15 mm (0.59 in). Few leaves are born on the flower stems, and are reduced in size, decreasing in size the further from base upwards on the stem. Fruits are capsular and range between 15 and 20 mm (0.59 and 0.79 in) long. [8]

Phytochemistry

The plant may be toxic [7] as has been shown for related Toxicoscordion venenosum and T. paniculatum . [9] In sheep, Anticlea elegans has been shown to have an average minimum lethal dose of 60 g of green plant per kilogram of body weight, compared to 5 g/kg for Toxicoscordion nuttallii . [10]

Taxonomy

During the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Meriwether Lewis collected a specimen along the Blackfoot River on July 7, 1806, before summiting Lewis and Clark Pass over the continental divide that same day. The specimen was eventually passed to botanist Frederick Pursh for description. [11] [12] Pursh published his description of the new species Zigadenus elegans in 1814 while living in London, based on the Lewis specimen which was part of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Lewis and Clark Herbarium. [13] Anticlea elegans subsp. glauca was first named by Thomas Nuttall (1818) as Melanthium glaucum. Nuttall did not provide a type specimen, listing instead a distribution from the St. Lawrence and Niagara Falls west along the shores of the great lakes and then upstream along the Missouri River to Fort Mandan. [14] Anticlea elegans subsp. vaginata, the Alcove Death Camas or Sheathed deathcamas, was first described by botanist Per Axel Rydberg (1912) in his Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora XXVI. The type specimen was collected at Armstrong Canyon in what is now Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah sometime between August 4 and 6, 1911. The specimen was then placed into the New York Botanical Gardens herbarium as specimen Rydberg & Garrett 9407. [15]

Placement of the species and subspecies within family Melanthiaceae has been varied, with the initial descriptions from the three nominal species all landing within a different genus, Anticlea , Melanthium , and Zigadenus . Following their publication Z. elegans was kept in the genus Zigadenus, while Melanthium glaucum was deemed a junior synonym of Zigadenus elegans, [5] then In 1903, Rydberg split all species from Zigadenus except the nominal type species moving the split out species to Anticlea as A. elegans and A. chlorantha. This was based on the idea that only Zigadenus glaberrimus had an elongated root structure, and all the species assumed to only have bulbs were shifted to the related genus. [16] Within a year of its publication, Anticlea vaginata was moved to Zigadenus, while the splitting of Zigadenus by Rydberg was reversed soon after. A broadly described Zigadenus was maintained by botanists until molecular analysis by Wendy Zomlefer and Walter Judd (2002) showed the grouping to be polyphyletic. They split the species into a number of monophyletic genera, including resurrecting Anticlea. [17]

Distinction between Anticlea elegans and Anticlea vaginata was based on morphological grounds initially with floral and vegetative characters being used to support the separation. A team of researchers lead by Emily Palmquist investigated the possible genetic and morphometric differentiation between the two species, with their 2015 study results being published in the journal Systematic Botany. Based on analysis of both aspects, the team determined that the hanging gardens populations are nearly indistinguishable from A. elegans and moved A. vaginata to subspecies status. [18] The subspecies is likely the result of a vicariance event sometime around the end of the Pleistocene ice age. Increasing temperatures and changing biotic conditions pushed A. elegans habitat higher in elevation, but some groups were trapped in the hanging gardens areas resulting in genetic isolation. The conditions of the hanging gardens influenced the plant morphology, yearly reproductive cycles and began the process of genetic drift. A. elegans subsp. vaginata has several distinct alleles from the other subspecies, and flowers later then A. elegans subsp. elegans in the surrounding forests. Additionally, within the 15 populations of A. elegans subsp. vaginata, early stage genetic drift between the populations indicates the isolated groups are also separating genetically and on different evolution tracks. [18]

Distribution and habitat

Anticlea elegans in a shale meadow, Little Sheep Mountain, Idaho Anticlea elegans - Little Sheep Mountain ID.png
Anticlea elegans in a shale meadow, Little Sheep Mountain, Idaho

As a whole, Anticlea elegans is widely distributed through western North America, but absent from California and the southern southeast United States. In Canada its range extends from Quebec and New Brunswick west to the Northwest and Yukon Territories and into Alaska. The species extends along the Rocky Mountains of western North America south through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Following the mountainous uplands, populations are found into the central areas of Mexico. [19] [3]

Anticlea elegans subsp. elegans is the most widely distributed of the three accepted subspecies, with a northern range extending into Alaska, the Yukon and Northern territories in western north America. In northeastern North America, the subspecies is found through Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, but it is absent from the eastern maritime provinces of Newfoundland, Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Along St. Lawrence Seaway river system, the subspecies overlaps with A. elegans subsp. glauca populations in Quebec, plus in upper midwestern states of Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. The western North American populations are found along the west coast from British Columbia south through Washington and Oregon but are absent from California, the Baja California peninsula and the Mexican west coast. The southeastern most populations are found in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. [4]

The second most widespread of the subspecies is Anticlea elegans subsp. glauca which grows along the St. Lawrence Seaway on both the Canadian and United States sides of the river system. In the Great Lakes region, the subspecies is found to the south of the lakes, but is missing from Kentucky. The subspecies extends west in the grasslands to North and South Dakota plus south along the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois. [5] A number of relictual glacial refugia A. elegans subsp. glauca populations have been identified in south eastern North America and New England. The populations are at sites that did not experience any glaciation and provided habitats for boreal species displaced by icesheet encroachment. Identified relict populations are or were known in Missouri, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia; however, the lone sites in both Tennessee and Vermont are both thought to have been extirpated by the early 2000s. A series of seven populations are known in Missouri, located across the Ozark Plateau, which is noted to harbor disjunct populations of at least 37 boreal plant species. [20]

The rarest of the subspecies, Anticlea elegans subsp. vaginata, is restricted to the rocky hanging garden biomes of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona, Colorado and Utah. A. elegans subsp. elegans is also present in the same region, but found in the mountainous forests that surround the hanging gardens habitats. [18] [6] The hanging gardens are ecological hot spots where perennial springs occur in desert canyon wall alcoves supporting year round plant populations. The disjunct populations of A. elegans subsp. vaginata are all found below 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in elevation in hanging gardens with a sandstone host rock. The plants are usually growing in deeply shaded areas of the springs alcove. [18]

Ecology

Chrysotoxum fly on flower at Little Sheep Mountain, Idaho Chrysotoxum sp on Anticlea elegans.png
Chrysotoxum fly on flower at Little Sheep Mountain, Idaho

Two alpine populations of Anticlea elegans in a Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments area of the Lemhi Mountains of southwestern Idaho were studied in 2023 to assess pollinator ecology. Each group consisted of over 1000 plants covering 0.1–0.2 ha (11,000–22,000 sq ft) above the tree line on flat rocky areas of the mountain slope. The patches were monitored on July 31, 2023, with flower visitors being captured, identified, recorded, and eventually deposited in the California Academy of Sciences. At least four families of flies, Calliphoridae (carrion flies), Fanniidae (house flies), Sarcophagidae (flesh flies), and Syrphidae (flower flies) were recorded nectaring from the flowers, [21] with syrphids being the most prevalent visitors. At least six syrphid species from the genera Chrysotoxum , Eristalis , Eupeodes and possibly Dasysyrphus were identified during collecting. During flower visits the heads and upper surfaces of the larger flies would brush across the stamens gathering coatings of pollen, which would then be transported to other flowers where contact with the stigma would complete pollination. [21]

The flowers were also actively visited by unidentified small worker ants who collected nectar from the tepals. Due to their size, the workers they were able to visit the nectaries in the flower centers without interacting with the stamens or styles and not facilitating in pollination. Also present in the alpine area were species of both Osmia bees and Bombus bumble bees. During the observation periods, the bees visited many of the other plant species in the area, but were not documented to visit A. elegans, indicating flies including flower, carrion and flesh flies are likely the major pollinators for A. elegans in alpine areas of Idaho. [21]

A different subalpine site at Webber Lakes in the Idaho Beaverhead Mountains west of Yellowstone National Park was studied on July 28, 2020. The A. elegans flowers at this site were dominated by Tenthredo species sawflies. Activity from the sawflies was not limited to just pollination, as a number of mating pairs were also observed, suggesting the flowers are a preferred trysting location. [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>Trillium erectum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanthiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the family Liliaceae, in part because both their sepals and petals closely resemble each other and are often large and showy like those of lilies, while some more recent taxonomists have placed them in a family Trilliaceae. The most authoritative modern treatment, however, the APG III system of 2009, places the family in the order Liliales, in the clade monocots. Circumscribed in this way, the family includes up to 17 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanthieae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Melanthieae is a tribe of flowering plants within the family Melanthiaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in a large-scale reassignment of many of its species to different genera; in particular the genus Zigadenus (deathcamases) has been restricted to a single species, Zigadenus glaberrimus. Plants contain alkaloids, making them unpalatable to grazing animals; many are very poisonous to both animals and humans.

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the common harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Toxicoscordion venenosum</i> Western North American flowering plant

Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is named for its well known toxic qualities, with both its common names and its scientific name referencing this. Because its nectar is also poisonous, it is mainly pollinated by the death camas miner bee, which specializes in collecting the toxic pollen for its young. It is native to western North America from New Mexico to Saskatchewan and west to the Pacific Ocean.

<i>Fragaria virginiana</i> Species of strawberry

Fragaria virginiana, known as Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry, common strawberry, or mountain strawberry, is a North American strawberry that grows across much of the United States and southern Canada. It is one of the two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern domesticated garden strawberry.

<i>Heracleum sphondylium</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Heracleum sphondylium, commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is native to most of Europe, western Asia and northern Africa, but is introduced in North America and elsewhere. Other common names include cow parsnip. The flowers provide a great deal of nectar for pollinators.

<i>Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana</i> Species of palm

Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana, commonly called the coligallo palm, is an understory palm native to Central America and southern Mexico, where it grows in tropical rainforests.

<i>Trillium ovatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium ovatum, the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is the most widespread and abundant trillium in western North America. Its type specimen was gathered by Meriwether Lewis during the return trip of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806.

<i>Geum triflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geum triflorum, commonly known as prairie smoke, old man's whiskers, or three-flowered avens, is a spring-blooming perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family. It is a hemiboreal continental climate species that is widespread in colder and drier environments of western North America, although it does occur in isolated populations as far east as New York and Ontario. It is particularly known for the long feathery plumes on the seed heads that have inspired many of the regional common names and aid in wind dispersal of its seeds.

Deathcamas or death camas refers to several species of flowering plant in the tribe Melanthieae. The name alludes to the great similarity of appearance between these toxic plants, which were formerly classified together in the genus Zigadenus, and the edible camases (Camassia), with which they also often share habitat. Other common names for these plants include deadly zigadene, hog potato and mystery-grass.

<i>Bursaria spinosa</i> Species of plant

Bursaria spinosa is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia or the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m (35 ft) high, it bears fragrant white flowers at any time of year but particularly in summer. A common understorey shrub of eucalyptus woodland, it colonises disturbed areas and fallow farmland. It is an important food plant for several species of butterflies and moths, particularly those of the genus Paralucia, and native bees.

<i>Anticlea</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Anticlea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae, tribe Melanthieae. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in number of changes to placements within this tribe. Anticlea was long submerged into the genus Zigadenus; however its separate position has been confirmed. Some species were also moved from Stenanthium into Anticlea. Members of Anticlea may also be distinguished from other members of the former genus Zigadenus, the deathcamases, by the presence of narrow tepals with a single, conspicuous, bilobed gland. It also has a wider distribution, occurring in Asia and much of North and Central America, ranging south to Guatemala.

<i>Stenanthium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Stenanthium is a North American genus of flowering plants in the tribe Melanthieae of the family Melanthiaceae.

<i>Solidago altissima</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae

Solidago altissima, the tall goldenrod or late goldenrod, is a North American species of goldenrod in the family Asteraceae which is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is common in much of its range and fairly tolerant of landscapes which have been disturbed by humans. It has become naturalized in many parts of the world.

<i>Zigadenus</i> Genus of plants

Zigadenus is a genus of flowering plants now containing only one species, Zigadenus glaberrimus, the sandbog death camas, found in the southeastern United States from Mississippi to Virginia. Around 20 species were formerly included in the genus, but have now been moved to other genera.

<i>Toxicoscordion paniculatum</i> Species of plant in the deathcamas genus

Toxicoscordion paniculatum is a species of flowering plant known by the common names foothill deathcamas, panicled death-camas, and sand-corn. It is widely distributed across much of the western United States, especially in the mountains and deserts of the Great Basin region west of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitats, including sagebrush plateau, grasslands, forests, and woodlands.

Z. elegans may refer to:

<i>Pachycentria glauca</i> Species of shrub in Melastomataceae family

Pachycentria glauca is a small epiphytic shrub in the Melastomataceae family. It has 2 subspecies: P. glauca subsp. glauca and P. glauca subsp. maingayi. The glauca subspecies is endemic to Borneo, the maingayi subspecies is native to Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, perhaps Sumatra. It grows on trees, other epiphytes and rocks in partial shade. It is intimately associated with particular ant species, growing on their gardens, providing a home for them, feeding them and having its seeds dispersed by them.

<i>Silene otites</i> Species of plant in the genus Silene

Silene otites, called Spanish catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Silene, native to Europe and the Transcaucasus area, and introduced to Xinjiang in China. It varies its floral odors to attract mosquitoes and moths at night and flies and bees by day. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants.

References

  1. NatureServe (2023). "Zigadenus elegans White Camas". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  2. Rydberg, P.A. (1903). "Some generic segregations". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 30 (5): 273. doi:10.2307/2478553. JSTOR   2478553.
  3. 1 2 POWO. "Anticlea elegans (Pursh) Rydb". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  4. 1 2 POWO. "Anticlea elegans subsp. elegans". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 POWO. "Anticlea elegans subsp. glauca (Nutt.) A.Haines". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  6. 1 2 POWO. "Anticlea elegans subsp. vaginata (Rydb.) Palmquist & T.J.Ayers". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p.  546. ISBN   0-394-73127-1.
  8. "Anticlea elegans glaucous death-camas". Burke Herbarium Image Collection; Vascular Plants, Macrofungi, & Lichenized Fungi of Washington. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  9. Majak, W.; McDiarmid, R.E.; Cristofoli, W.; Sun, F.; Benn, M. (1992). "Content of zygacine in Zygadenus venenosus at different stages of growth". Phytochemistry. 31 (10): 3417–3418. Bibcode:1992PChem..31.3417M. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(92)83697-W.
  10. Panter, K.E.; Welch, K.D.; Gardner, D.R.; Lee, S.T.; Green, B.T.; Pfister, J.A.; Cook, D.; Davis, T.Z. & Stegelmeier, B.L. (2012). "Poisonous plants of the United States" (PDF). In Gupta, Ramesh C. (ed.). Veterinary Toxicology. Oxford: Academic Press. pp. 1029–1079. ISBN   978-0-12-385926-6 . Retrieved 2024-05-05. p. 1067.
  11. Cutright, P.R. (2003). Lewis and Clark Pioneering Naturalists. University of Nebraska Press. p. 423. ISBN   978-0-8032-6434-2.
  12. Schiemann, D.A. (2005). Wildflowers of Montana. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 142.
  13. Pursh, F. (1814). Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or a systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America. Vol. 2. London: White, Chochrane, & Co.
  14. Nuttall, T. (1818). The genera of North American plants: and a catalogue of the species, to the year 1817. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: D. Heartt.
  15. Rydberg, P.A. (1912). "Studies on the Rocky Mountain flora-XXVI". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 39 (3): 108–109.
  16. Rydberg, P.A. (1903). "Some Generic Segregations". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 30 (5): 271–273. doi:10.2307/2478553. JSTOR   2478553.
  17. Zomlefer, W.B.; Judd, W.S. (2002). "Resurrection of segregates of the polyphyletic genus Zigadenus sl (Liliales: Melanthiaceae) and resulting new combinations". Novon. 12 (2): 299–308. doi:10.2307/3392971. JSTOR   3392971.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Palmquist, E.; Ayers, T.; Allan, G. (2015). "Genetic and morphometric assessment of the origin, population structure, and taxonomic status of Anticlea vaginata (Melanthiaceae)" (PDF). Systematic Botany. 40 (1): 56–68. doi:10.1600/036364415X686332.
  19. "Zigadenus elegans Pursh ssp. elegans". USDA Plants Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  20. Stroh, E.D. (2005). "Study background". Remnants of the past: Ecology of relict Anticlea populations in Missouri (PhD thesis). University of Missouri-Columbia. OCLC   3189955 . Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Cane, J. H. (2024). "Diverse flies (Diptera) likely pollinate an alpine death camas, Anticlea elegans (Melanthiaceae)". Journal of Pollination Ecology. 36 (15): 262–266. doi: 10.26786/1920-7603(2024)803 .