Calochortus 2016

[Robert]

It is that time of year now.



Calochortus albus can be found blooming abundantly throughout the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountians now. This species generally prefers bright filtered sunlight.



Calochortus monophyllus. I found a good sized colony of this species on a hot, sunny, south facing slope above Tiger Creek, 2,850 feet elevation (869 meters).

[Lesley Cox]

These are lovely Robert. I have quite a few 2 year olds from Alplains seed and am looking forward to seeing them in due course. I still have some from seed sent many years ago by Wayne Roderick. Actually the seeds were delivered by a young woman who arrived on my door step, taking a day off from a Real Estate conference in Christchurch, to come south to where I lived then in Timaru. She was WR's neighbour and he'd asked to bring them to me. I don't know how he had ever heard of me. I had C. kennedyi for a few years from this seed but lost it eventually. I still have half a dozen though, which flower regularly.

[Robert]

Lesley,

I think Wayne knew everyone and everyone knew Wayne. 

I was invited to his Orinda home many times, but unfortunately never made the trip. One of those things that I wish I had done differently. 

I was hoping to make it over to the Mount Diablo area this spring. 7 to 8 different Calochortus species grow in this region. My current schedule is very very busy so I may need to change these plans. I would be great to have more time for this, but things do not always work out as I would like.  Right now I have important things to get done in our local Sierra Nevada and Foothill region. Yesterday on my survey I visited a site where there we hundreds of Calochortus monophyllus in full bloom, often mixed with blooming plants of Triteleia ixioides. It was all very beautiful. The plant of the day however was Hosackia incana in full bloom. The woolly silvery foliage is fantastic. I will be posting photographs of the Hosackia on my diary as soon as I can.

[Robert]

Some beautiful California native Calochortus species



Calochortus luteus is a fairly abundant species in California. It grows mostly at low elevation sites in the Great Central Valley of California and the bordering hills of both the Coastal Mountain Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Due to human activities their numbers have dwindled considerably near urban centers.

I found these growing in the wild in El Dorado County very near the Sacramento County line. Sacramento is a huge urban center, however this site is some distance from the "city" and the accompanying development.

There were a considerable number of plants in this area with some interesting variation.



Calochortus minimus is one of our dwarf species. This species is very similar to Calochortus nudus, which also grows in El Dorado County, California (and elsewhere in California). Their similarities are so close that it is often extremely difficult to determine to the species except when their fruits have developed. Calochortus minimus has nodding seed pods, C. nudus has upright seed pods. Compounding the identification issue is the fact that the two species hybridize freely. In the Lyon's Creek Basin of El Dorado County one finds hybrid swarms. The hybrids can create a delightful mix of forms, however this can be vexing to anyone trying to identify one species or the other, especially if they are not familiar with the two species and their hybrids.

I have found both species difficult to maintain in cultivation. I can generally get seedlings to blooming age, enjoy one season of flowers, and then they are gone forever. I keep experimenting with both species and hope one day to find lasting success with them. They generally grow where there is a considerable amount of snow during the wintertime. It may may be important to keep them "just moist" during the winter-spring season until they are well into active growth. They are often seen blooming in extremely moist soil from snow melt. They also seem tolerant of some moisture after they go dormant in the summer. Things to think about with future attempts with the two species.

[Steve Garvie]

The first of the Calochortus (all pot grown) are in flower here:

Calochortus tolmiei


Calochortus monophyllus

[Steve Garvie]

Calochortus amabilis


Calochortus albus var. rubellus


Calochortus splendens

[Lesley Cox]

Fantastic photos Steve. 8)Happily, our local Fritillaria Group (now reinvented as New Zealand Fritillaria and Small Bulb Group) last year and this, bought in seed from Alplains of Calochortus species. Although I still have a few of my originals, it was good to have the opportunity to add to them. C. amabilis is my most favourite of all.

C. tolmiei seems closely related to some kind of sea anemone.

[Steve Garvie]

Calochortus catalinae


Calochortus venustus ex Cuddy Creek


Calochortus striatus

[fermi de Sousa]

Our first Calochortus for the year, Calochortus catalinae;
grown from seed from NARGS Seedex 2008,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Calochortus splendens is starting to flower now,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Fermi,

Thank you for sharing the Calochortus photographs. 

Calochortus catalinae is just showing itself above the ground - far too early for any of the others to show anything. The Dichelostemmas are all in growth now, but then they are always the first to show after the autumn rains start.

I have some wonderful sites to visit this spring in the coastal mountains to see some other Calochortus species. Maybe I'll get brave and visit the Mount Diablo area too.    ......so close to the crowds of the San Francisco Bay area. 

[Rogan]

Probably the only Calochortus in these parts! I raised it from seed as Calochortus venustus but, looking at the crescent-shaped gland, I would say it's C. superbus rather. Whatever it is, it is very pretty and now settings two large pods.

[Robert]

Hi Rogan,

Beautiful Calochortus superbus!     Spot-on!

Most of the Calochortus superbus in our area are white, however sometimes flushed pink forms show up in our local populations. Some forms are said to be yellow, however these are generally hybrids with Calochortus luteus. The two species occupy different habitats, however their ranges can overlap at times.

The sepals of Calochortus venustus are unmistakable. They are long acuminate and very elegant. The flowers can be highly variable in color and patterns. Population of C. venustus can overlap with those of C. superbus. Hybrids can and do occur. Generally, I find C. venustus at higher elevations, C. superbus at lower elevations.

The bottom line is that they are all beautiful and worth growing, providing ones climate is amenable to their culture.

[fermi de Sousa]

Calochortus superbus is in bloom here as well.
This is the original clump from seed many years ago and better this year than the last few - something else I'm creditting to the wet winter.
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Fermi,

Very 

I guess I dote over my Calochortus i.e. checking on them every day.  In most cases there is not much to see right now except bare earth, however some, but not all, are starting to emerge from the ground. I did notice C. superbus coming up. I am hoping for a good bloom season this year. We had good rainfall last year and we are off to a good start this year.

More of the Themidaceae are coming up. I hope I have much to share when our spring arrives.

Thanks for sharing the photographs.