LILIACEAE

LILY FAMILY

Dale W. McNeal, except as specified

Perennial to trees, from membranous bulb, fibrous corm, scaly rhizome, or erect caudex
Stem generally underground
Leaves generally basal, often withering early, alternate, generally ± linear
Inflorescence various, generally bracted
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial; perianth often showy, segments generally 6 in two petal-like whorls (outer sometimes sepal-like), free or fused at base; stamens 6 (or 3 + generally 3 ± petal-like staminodes), filaments sometimes attached to perianth or fused into a tube or crown; ovary superior or inferior, chambers 3, placentas generally axile, style generally 1, stigmas generally 3
Fruit: generally capsule, loculicidal or septicidal (berry or nut)
Genera in family: ± 300 genera, 4600 species: especially ± dry temp and subtropical; many cultivated for ornamental or food; some TOXIC. Here includes genera sometimes treated in Agavaceae, Amaryllidaceae, and other families.

CLINTONIA

Perennial; rhizome slender, spreading
Leaves ± basal, wide; petioles sheathing
Inflorescence: umbel or flowers solitary on scapose peduncles
Flower: perianth part 6 in 2 petal-like whorls, free; stamens 6, attached to perianth, hairy near base in CA; ovary superior, chambers 2–3, stigma obscurely 2–3-lobed
Fruit: berry, ovoid, blue in CA
Seeds 2–several, black
Species in genus: 6 species: w North America, e North America, Asia
Etymology: (De Witt Clinton, naturalist, governor of New York, 1769–1828)

Native

C. uniflora (Schult. & Schult. f.) Kunth

Rhizome 1–3 mm diam
Leaves 2–3, 7–15 cm, 2–6 cm wide, oblanceolate to oblong or elliptic, ± hairy
Inflorescence: flower 1(2); peduncle 4–8 cm, hairy; bracts 1–2
Flower 18–22 mm; perianth white, hairy, segments not pouched at base
Fruit 6–10 mm
Chromosomes: n=14
Ecology: Shaded coniferous forest
Elevation: 1000–1900 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, Outer North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada
Distribution outside California: to sw Canada
Horticultural information: SHD, IRR, DRN: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17; DFCLT.