It went unrecorded for years; even today its
occurrances are known to only a few people. Lyall's Mariposa Lily
occurs in only a few sites in the sourtheastern part of the Thompson-Okanagan
region.
Distinguishing features
Calochortus is a Greek word meaning 'beautiful grass,'
but the lovely flowers are most obvious. It may be the most striking
of the white-flowering mariposa lilies.
Lyall's Mariposa Lily grows 10-50 cm tall, having a single stem
leaf about halfway up; its top might reach the flowerhead. Flowers
are white but sometimes lavender-tinged. Above the nectar gland
on each petal there is a purple crescent; on each sepal there is
a similar mark, almost hidden. Petals are sharp-pointed and fringed
with slender hairs. The pointed sepals are about half as long as
the petals.
This species is also called Cats-ear lily because of the ear-shaped
petals bordered by long hairs resembling those on a cat. There is
a purple, hairy "eyebrow" above the conspicuous sunken,
green gland.
Quite similar to Calochortus apiculatus but can be readily
distinguished by its crescent-shaped gland, bluntish rather than
long apiculate anthers, and erect fruit.
Distribution
Map
Red dots indicate specimen records or confirmed breeding sites.
British Columbia
Rare in southcentral British Columbia around the Thompson Plateau
and Okanagan Range. There have been reports from the Continental
Ranges - Fernie Basin; Border Ranges - Clark Range (Similkameen
River area, Corbin, Crowsnest Pass).
North America
Lyall's Mariposa Lily is very abundant on the eastern slope of the
Cascades in open ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests in Washington
State. In places, 10 plants per square meter are found at between
600 m and 900 m elevation. It is also found south to Washington.
Habitat
The preferred habitat of Lyall's Mariposa Lily is dry coniferous
forest. Dry to mesic
forests and slopes in the steppe and montane zones are suitable
as are sagebrush slopes to open forest. Lyall's Mariposa Lily can
be found in the high sagebrush-ponderosa pine habitat of the southern
Okanagan.
Why
is it endangered?
This species along with others of the grasslands communities are
endangered for a number of reasons. Livestock grazing, range re-seeding
and off-road recreation have modified much of the remaining "undeveloped"
grassland areas. In addition, cultivation, agricultural and urban
development, prescribed burning, forest encroachment, road and trail
development, alien plant and animal species introductions, and hydro-electric
power projects have caused outright, irreversible losses of native
grassland species in general.
Because grasslands have been so influenced by human activities,
a relatively large number of wildlife species associated with grasslands
(including this plant species) are listed as threatened or endangered.
Because of these combined influences and the relatively limited
distribution of grasslands, "ancient" grasslands represent
a much more endangered space in British Columbia than do "ancient"
or old-growth forests.
Biology
Lyall's Mariposa Lily blooms from May to July.
Sources for more
information
Related On-line Sites to Visit
Publications
The Lily Family of BC - TMC Taylor, 1974, p. 26
The Vascular Plants of BC, MOF, pt. 4, 1990, p.71.
The SOCAP Workshop Summary, The Nature Trust, 1989.
Sagebrush Country, Taylor, 1992, p. 74
Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in British Columbia and Washington,
Lyons and Merilees, 1995.
Museum Specimens
this section sponsored
by: 
Industry Canada
LYALL'S MARIPOSA LILY
