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January 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere

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Robert:


I was going through some of my photographs today, getting myself organized for the coming season. I came across this photograph of Primula jeffreyi (Dodecatheon jeffreyi) that I enjoy immensely. I thought this photograph might be a great way to start the new year. The photograph was taken on 29 July 2019 in a hydric/mesic meadow near the old Upper Forni Ranch in El Dorado County, California. This meadow was likely a shallow lake at the end of the last Ice Age. This meadow still has some characteristics of a lake. In the spring during the snowmelt runoff it becomes a shallow lake for a short period of time. Later in the season the high water mark is easy to see ringing the meadow. Later in the summer this high water zone is filled with thousands of Calochortus minimus in full bloom. This too is a delightful sight to experience.

MarcR:
Robert,

It is a very beautiful plant.  It also grows well in sandy loam with plenty of leafmold if kept moist.

brianw:
I have never thought of Calochortus as water meadow plants?

MarcR:
brianw,

Most Calochortus are not wet meadow plants; in fact, many calochortus are high desert plants.

Many plants that do not need standing water to grow well can become semi-aquatic if the alternative is dying out.

Most Crinums are examples of that trait.

The plant pictured in the wet meadow is NOT a Calochortus.  It is a Dodecathion [primula].

The Calochortus was NOT pictured growing with wet 'feet'.

Robert:
Hi Brian,

I will try to give you a quick and short explanation to a subject that is rather complex.



Calochortus minimus is tolerant of soil moisture in relationship to temperature. The y axis of the graph is temperature, the x axis is tolerance to soil moisture. At high temperatures Calochortus minimus has little tolerance for moist/wet soil. At low temperatures Calochortus minimus has high tolerance of moist/wet soil. In addition, when the meadow referred to is flooded the soil where the Calochortus is growing is frozen. I have recorded soil temperatures at 10 cm and 15 cm with data recorders for years at similar sites in this area. Basically no water infiltrates into the frozen soil. By the time the soil thaws the high water levels have receded or are receding quickly. I have recorded soil moisture content at various sites. Even on fairly heavy soils (high clay content) the initial drop in moisture content after flooding can be relatively quick in the first 24 hours. In the gritty granite based soils at this site soil moisture levels drop at an even faster rate. Anaerobic soil conditions are not an issue in this situation.

I have been studying Calochortus minimus in the Crystal Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains for decades and have detailed data sets on a wide range of variables. I have recorded this species at elevations as high as 9,500 feet (2,896 meters) and as low as 4,800 feet (1,463 meters). The high elevation populations of this species can remain in mesic conditions during the complete growing season. I have frequently seen this species in full bloom at the base of a melting snowfield. Conditions are extremely moist, yet temperatures are always relatively cool. At the lower end of its range soil conditions are generally moist when the plants are blooming, yet become extremely xeric during the summer and autumn months. Temperatures during the summer are very high and the resting bulbs have no tolerance to high levels of soil moisture at this time. These are conditions generally associated with most species within the genus Calochortus.

Another interesting note is that I also observe this same relationship of temperature to tolerance to soil moisture with other species such as Lewisia triphylla and Lewisia nevadensis.

Brian I hope I provided enough information to answer your comment/question. A whole article could be written, but I have other priorities at this time.

Yes, you are correct, I am referring to Calochortus minimus that are not in the photograph. Excellent comment/question.

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