Triteleia grandiflora - large flowered triplet lily

10/9/2014 8:29 PM

Triteleia grandiflora, wild hyacinth, large flowered cluster lily, large flowered triplet lily, blue umber-lily, blue-lily.

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T. grandiflor was in the Liliaceae family. Now, Burke Herbarium UW says it’s in the Asparagaceae family, Jepson Herbarium UC Berkeley says it’s in the Themidaceae family. Whatever.

It is a monocot, like the lilies. One false-leaf pokes up through the ground from a seed instead of 2 false-leaves, as it dicots. Its leaves have parallel veins. Its flower parts are in 3s and 6s rather than the 4s and 5s of dicots.

It’s inflorescence is an umbel of large flowers at the top of a long, very thin stem.

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In an umbel the pedicels of several flowers rise from the receptacle at the top of the flower-stalk [the peduncle].

The light green ring in the photo below will be the thickened ‘receptacle’ at the top of the stem. The striped brown structures are the phyllaries of the involucre, rising from the receptacle.

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It has both basal leaves and cauline leaves [leaves along the stem]. They are both long, narrow, and keeled [v-shaped].

Basal leaves

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Cauline leaves

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I have no photos of the corms.

Triteleia grandiflora rises from a spherical corm. There are ‘daughter corms’. The daughter corms are sessile [do not have stems].

The corms are deep, perhaps 8 inches, protecting them from long periods of drought according to Southwest Colorado Wildflowers.

Tepals, a reminder:

Flowers often have an inner and an outer perianth, surrounding the reproductive organs.

The inner perianth is also called the corolla. The corolla is made up of petals.

The outer perianth is also called the calyx. The calyx is made up of sepals. Sepals are usually green in color.

If there is only one perianth ring or if both perianth rings are the same color the botanists use the term tepals for what we would call the petals.

Triteleia grandiflora, like many monocots, has tepals rather than petals and sepals.

The six tepals are fused into a tube with 6 lobes flaring at the top. There is overlapping of the tepals at the top of the tube. The overlapping tepals are outer tepals, the overlapped tepals are the inner tepals. The outer tepals have smooth edges. The inner tepals have wavy edges.

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Triteleia grandiflora has a three chambered pistil. Three stigma arch away from the style above the dark blue ovary.

Resources speak of yellow or purple anthers. I have no photographs showing yellow anthers.

They also speak of sterile or abortive anthers. We must be seeing sterile or abortive anthers, here.

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Resources speak of 6 anthers attached to the corolla tube at two levels. I don’t have photographs to show that. Nor do I have photos showing the appendages on the stamen they speak of.

The photo below is my best view of anthers.

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One resource details the filament of the stamen. It is broad. The breadth distinguishes varieties of T. grandiflora. Next year.

Bud. The inflorescence enclosed in its involucre.

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Flowers in bud, the involucre torn away.

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