Triteleia laxa

Last updated

Triteleia laxa
Triteleia laxa flower in bloom.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Brodiaeoideae
Genus: Triteleia
Species:
T. laxa
Binomial name
Triteleia laxa

Triteleia laxa (previously Brodiaea laxa) is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear, [1] common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally found in southwestern Oregon. It bears a tall, naked stem topped with a spray of smaller stalks, each ending in a purple or blue flower. The flower is tubular, opening into a sharply six-pointed star. The plant grows from a corm which is edible and similar in taste and use as the potato. [2] The most used common name for the species, Ithuriel's spear, is a reference to the angel Ithuriel from Milton's Paradise Lost .[ citation needed ]

Contents

Cultivation

Hardiness: USDA 6-10

Etymology

The genus name Triteleia is derived from Greek and means 'triplicate', a reference to its flower parts, which are in multiples of three. The epithet laxa means 'open', 'uncrowded', 'distant', 'spreading', or 'lax'. [3] It is derived from the Latin adjective laxus, meaning 'flaccid, loose'. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasmine</span> Genus of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae

Jasmine is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. Additionally a number of unrelated species of plants or flowers contain the word "jasmine" in their common names.

<i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i> Species of shrub with edible fruit

Vaccinium vitis-idaea, the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany various dishes, primarily in the Nordics. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in the Netherlands.

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

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1886) and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese (1795-1876). It is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most species being found in Cape Provinces. Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The plants commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other species are also grown as ornamental plants.

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

Brodiaea, also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants.

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

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 northwestern Mexico. However they are most common in California. They are perennial plants growing from a fibrous corm, roughly spherical in shape. They get their name from the fact that all parts of their flowers come in threes.

<i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i> Species of fruit and plant

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi is a plant species of the genus Arctostaphylos widely distributed across circumboreal regions of the subarctic Northern Hemisphere. Kinnikinnick is a common name in Canada and the United States. Growing up to 30 centimetres in height, the leaves are evergreen. The flowers are white to pink and the fruit is a red berry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithuriel</span>

Ithuriel is an angel mentioned in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost.

<i>Aesculus californica</i> Species of plant

Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of buckeye native to California and southwestern Oregon.

<i>Rosa nutkana</i> Species of plant

Rosa nutkana, the Nootka rose, bristly rose, or wild rose is a 0.6–3.0-metre-tall (2–10-foot) perennial shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae).

<i>Triteleia bridgesii</i> Species of flowering plant

The triplet lily Triteleia 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.

<i>Iris tenax</i> Species of tree

Iris tenax is a species of Iris, known by the common names tough-leaved iris, Oregon iris, or more colloquially, flag.

<i>Verbena bonariensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.

<i>Brodiaea californica</i> Species of flowering plant

Brodiaea californica, with the common name California brodiaea, is a species of plant in the genus Brodiaea.

<i>Triteleia ixioides</i> Species of flowering plant

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 coniferous forests and other habitat. It is a perennial wildflower growing from a corm. It produces one to two basal leaves up to 50 centimeters long by 1.5 wide. The inflorescence arises on an erect stem up to 80 centimeters tall. It is an umbel-like cluster of several flowers each borne on a pedicel up to 7 centimeters long. The flowers are variable in size, measuring one to nearly three centimeters in length. They are pale to bright yellow, or sometimes purple-tinged white. There are six tepals with darker midveins in shades of green, brown, or purple. The lobes are funnel-shaped and may open flat or somewhat reflexed. The six stamens form a fused tube that protrudes from the corolla; they have broad, flat filaments and whitish, yellowish, or blue anthers.

<i>Triteleia crocea</i> Species of flowering plant

Triteleia crocea, with the common names yellow triteleia and yellow tripletlily, is a monocot flowering plant in the genus Triteleia.

<i>Lysimachia latifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae

Lysimachia latifolia, sometimes called Trientalis latifolia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is known as starflower, chickweed-wintergreen, or Pacific starflower.

<i>Triteleia grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Triteleia grandiflora is a species of flowering plant known by the common names largeflower triteleia, largeflower tripletlily, and wild hyacinth.

<i>Triteleia montana</i> Species of flowering plant

Triteleia montana is a monocot flowering plant in the genus Triteleia. Its common names include Sierra triteleia, and mountain triteleia. It is endemic to California, where it is limited to the Sierra Nevada. It occurs in coniferous forests on granite soils. The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains. It is a perennial wildflower growing from a corm. There are two or three basal leaves measuring up to 30 centimeters long and just a few millimeters wide. The inflorescence arises on an erect, rough-haired stem up to 25 or 30 centimeters tall. It is an umbel-like cluster of several flowers each borne on a pedicel up to 3 centimeters long. The flower is yellow with a dark midvein, and dries purplish. The funnel-shaped corolla is made up of six tepals up to a centimeter long each. There are six stamens with white or blue anthers.

T. laxa may refer to:

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.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Triteleia laxa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  2. Chesnut, V K (1900–1902), Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, vol. 7, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, pp. 327–329
  3. Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN   9780521685535 (paperback). pp 232, 388
  4. Stearn, W.T. (2004). Botanical Latin (4th (p/b) ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 439. ISBN   978-0-7153-1643-6.
Ithuriel's spear, Triteleia laxa, Bay Area, California Ithuriels Spear, Triteleia laxa.jpg
Ithuriel's spear,Triteleia laxa, Bay Area, California