Calochortus indecorus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Liliales |
Family: | Liliaceae |
Genus: | Calochortus |
Species: | C. indecorus |
Binomial name | |
Calochortus indecorus Ownbey & M.Peck | |
Calochortus indecorus was a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Sexton Mountain mariposa lily. It was known only from Sexton Mountain in Josephine County, Oregon, in the US. It is now presumed extinct. [2]
The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and about 705 known species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair amount of morphological diversity despite genetic similarity. Common characteristics include large flowers with parts arranged in threes: with six colored or patterned petaloid tepals arranged in two whorls, six stamens and a superior ovary. The leaves are linear in shape, with their veins usually arranged parallel to the edges, single and arranged alternating on the stem, or in a rosette at the base. Most species are grown from bulbs, although some have rhizomes. First described in 1789, the lily family became a paraphyletic "catch-all" (wastebasket) group of petaloid monocots that did not fit into other families and included a great number of genera now included in other families and in some cases in other orders. Consequently, many sources and descriptions labelled "Liliaceae" deal with the broader sense of the family.
Josephine County is a county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 82,713. The county seat is Grants Pass. The county is probably named after a stream in the area called Josephine Creek, which in turn is probably named after Virginia Josephine Rollins Ort. Josephine County comprises the Grants Pass, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Medford-Grants Pass, OR Combined Statistical Area.
In biology, extinction is the termination of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" after a period of apparent absence.
This perennial herb had a thick, unbranched stem up to 22 centimeters long. The inflorescence contained up to 6 bell-shaped lavender flowers. The fruit was a winged capsule up to 2 centimeters long. [2] [3]
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.
The plant's habitat was serpentine mountain slopes. [2]
Serpentine soil is mostly derived from ultramafic rocks; In particular, serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of peridotite. Peridotite is an ultramafic rock from the Earth's upper mantle. Serpentinite is composed of the mineral serpentine; the two terms are often used to mean the rock and soil.
This plant was only collected once and has not been located since. It may have been made extinct by construction on Interstate 5. [2] [1]
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, serving several large cities on the U.S. West Coast, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle. It is currently the only continuous Interstate highway to touch both the Mexican border and the Canadian border. Upon crossing the Mexican border at its southern terminus, Interstate 5 continues to Tijuana, Baja California as Mexico Federal Highway 1. Upon crossing the Canadian border at its northern terminus, it continues to Vancouver as British Columbia Highway 99.
Calochortus is a genus of North American plants in the lily family. The group includes herbaceous, perennial and bulbous species, all native to North America.
Calochortus clavatus is a species of mariposa lily known by the common name clubhair mariposa lily. It is endemic to California where it is found in forests and on chaparral slopes.
Calochortus catalinae is a species of mariposa lily known by the common name Santa Catalina mariposa lily.
Calochortus argillosus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common name clay mariposa lily.
Calochortus bruneaunis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family, and is known by the common name Bruneau mariposa lily.
Calochortus dunnii is a rare species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Dunn's mariposa lily.
Calochortus elegans is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name elegant Mariposa lily, cat's ear, elegant cat's ears or star tulip. It is native to the western United States from northern California to Montana.
Calochortus greenei is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Greene's mariposa lily. It is native to northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in the forest and woodlands of the mountains. It is a perennial herb which produces a branching stem up to about 30 centimeters in maximum height. There is a basal leaf about 20 centimeters long which does not wither at flowering. The inflorescence bears 1 to 5 erect bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three sepals and three light purple petals with darker areas at the bases. The petals are 3 to 4 centimeters long and have a coat of long hairs on their inner surfaces. The fruit is a winged capsule about 2 centimeters long.
Calochortus leichtlinii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Leichtlin's mariposa, smokey mariposa, and mariposa lily.
Calochortus minimus is a California species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name Sierra mariposa lily.
Calochortus monanthus is a presumed extinct North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names single-flowered mariposa lily and Shasta River mariposa lily. It was endemic to northern California.
Calochortus nudus is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name naked mariposa lily.
Calochortus obispoensis is a rare California species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name San Luis mariposa lily. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it grows in the chaparral of the coastal mountains, generally on serpentine soils.
Calochortus palmeri is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Palmer's mariposa lily and strangling mariposa.
Calochortus persistens is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Siskiyou mariposa lily. It is native to northern California and southern Oregon.
Calochortus tolmiei is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Tolmie's star-tulip and pussy ears. It was discovered by and named for Dr. William Fraser Tolmie.
Calochortus uniflorus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Monterey mariposa lily and large-flowered star-tulip. It is native to western Oregon and to California as far south as San Luis Obispo County. It grows in moist areas, such as meadows, in coastal hills and lower-elevation mountains. Most of the populations are found in the Coast Ranges, but some occur in the Cascades and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
Calochortus umpquaensis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Umpqua mariposa lily. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is mainly limited to the region of the Klamath Mountains on the Little River in Douglas County, in particular the Watson and Ace Williams Mountains. The flower has also been found at a single location in each of Josephine and Jackson Counties.
Calochortus coxii is a rare species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Cox's mariposa lily and crinite mariposa lily. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is known only from Douglas County.
Calochortus longibarbatus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family with the common names long-haired star-tulip and longbeard mariposa lily. It is native to Oregon, Washington, and northern California, where it grows in the forest and woodlands of the mountains.