Erythronium shastense

[Ed Alverson]

Earlier this month I had an opportunity to participate in an event that was a sort of a "debutante ball" for four new plant species in the SE Klamath Mts. of Shasta County, California, including a new species of Erythronium, E. shastense! I've attached a copy of the flier for the event, as well as a few photos from the field trip.

Unfortunately the new Erythronium was well past bloom due to the unusually mild spring we have had this year. As you can see from the first photo, the Erythronium has very large leaves and is very strongly clumping (from offsets). The second photo shows the Erythronium with another new species, a maidenhair fern, Adiantum shastense. We saw the third species nearby, Erythranthe taylori, and the fourth species is a Vaccinium which we did not see on the field trip. Also growing with the Adiantum and Erythronium is the shrub Neviusia cliftonii, a member of the rose family that was discovered in 1992 and was a new (native) genus for the California flora. All in all a remarkable story. The third photo shows Dana York on the right (one of the authors of the paper describing E. shastense), and Dean Taylor on the left, who was the first person in modern times to collect E. shastense; there is a clump of E. shastense between them. Dean is also the discoverer and namesake of Erythronium taylori and co-discoverer of Neviusia cliftonii.

This particular part of northern California seems to be a hot spot for endemic species in part because of a large extent of limestone bedrock (generally uncommon in the state), and in part because it is a relatively high precipitation area (note all of the mosses growing on the tree trunks).

Erythronium shastense is closest to E. helenae, which grows in the coast ranges several hundred miles to the SW. Both species have yellow anthers and bent styles. E. shastense is extremely clumping, with large leaves, and the flowers are outward-facing, rather than pendent. E. californicum is the closest species geographically, but it has white anthers and pendent flowers.

Ed

[Ed Alverson]

Oops - somehow the first photo got detached from the post - here it is.


Erythronium shastense

[Maggi Young]

Very exciting news, Ed : such discoveries show the amount of work still to be done, plants still to be found. 

Thought this really  deserved its own thread!

[art600]

Ed

Thanks for the news and field photos.

Interesting you say you have had a warm Spring, considering the appalling cold spell you had again this year.

We too are enjoying some good weather, to add to a very mild winter.  Living just below "The banana belt" in the UK I am delighted that my Erythroniums are thriving in the garden.

[Ed Alverson]

Very good! I should add that Dean Taylor has posted a number of photos of Erythronium shastense plants in flower, habitat, etc. on flickr, which should be accessible at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43555623@N06/sets/72157644945665856/

Ed

[Ed Alverson]

Earlier this month I had an opportunity to participate in an event that was a sort of a "debutante ball" for four new plant species in the SE Klamath Mts. of Shasta County, California, including a new species of Erythronium, E. shastense! I've attached a copy of the flier for the event, as well as a few photos from the field trip.

The paper describing Erythronium shastense finally come out today. A link to the paper is http://dx.doi.org/10.3120/madr-62-03-158-166.1

Unfortunately you need a subscription to see the entire text - but I'd be happy to send the full pdf to anyone who is interested, just send me a PM.

The paper says that E. shastense is "distinct from E. helenae Applegate in its longer style, leaves that are as much as 6 cm longer, and stamens as much as 3 mm longer. Distinct from E. californicum Purdy in its bright yellow anthers, larger leaves, and declined style." I might add that the plants I've seen, at least, have a strong tendency to produce offsets and form clumps with multiple leaves and flowering stems. E. helenae has somewhat of a clumping tendency, and some selected forms of E. californicum also do ("White Beauty"), but this character seems especially pronounced in E. shastense.

It will be interesting to see how the DNA of E. shastense differs from related species as well.

Ed