Erythronium pusaterii
Encyclopedia
Erythronium pusaterii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family
known by the common name Kaweah Lakes fawn lily.
It is endemic to central Tulare County, California
, where it is known from only about ten occurrences in the southern Sierra Nevada.
4 to 6 centimeters wide and bears usually two wavy-edged, lance-shaped leaves each up to 35 centimeters long. The inflorescence
arises on a stalk up to 40 centimeters tall and bears one to eight flowers. The flower has six tepal
s up to 4.5 centimeters long which are white at the tips and yellow drying pink at the bases.
Liliaceae
The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...
known by the common name Kaweah Lakes fawn lily.
It is endemic to central Tulare County, California
Tulare County, California
Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...
, where it is known from only about ten occurrences in the southern Sierra Nevada.
Description
This perennial wildflower grows from a bulbBulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
4 to 6 centimeters wide and bears usually two wavy-edged, lance-shaped leaves each up to 35 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
arises on a stalk up to 40 centimeters tall and bears one to eight flowers. The flower has six tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s up to 4.5 centimeters long which are white at the tips and yellow drying pink at the bases.