Common Name: BRODIAEA FAMILY Habit: Perennial herb from corm, outer coat fibrous [membranous]; daughter corms formed at stem base above corm of previous year, cormlets formed at base of corms or on short stolons. Leaf: basal, 1--10, linear to narrow-lanceolate. Inflorescence: scapose, generally umbel-like; scape erect, generally 1(2), cylindric, generally rigid, occasionally wavy to twining; flower bracts 2--4[10], not enclosing flower buds. Flower: perianth parts 6 in 2 petal-like whorls, free or +- fused below into tube; staminodes 0 or 3; stamens 3 or 6, free or fused to perianth, occasionally appendaged; ovary superior, chambers 3, ovules 2--several per chamber. Fruit: capsule, loculicidal. Genera In Family: 13 genera, 70--80 species: western North America. eFlora Treatment Author: J. Chris Pires & Robert E. Preston, except as noted Scientific Editor: Dale W. McNeal, Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Habit: Cormlets generally sessile. Leaf: 2--5, generally keeled, entire, glabrous, occasionally withered by flowering. Inflorescence: raceme- or umbel-like, generally dense; scape generally curved, twisted, or twining, cylindric; bracts +- papery; pedicels generally < flowers. Flower: perianth tube cylindric to bell-shaped, appendages on outer lobes at junction of tube, forming crown; staminodes 0 (3, stamen-like); stamens 3, equal, anthers attached at base; style 1, stigma weakly 3-lobed. Fruit: generally sessile, generally ovoid, 3-angled. Seed: sharp-angled, black-crusted. Etymology: (Greek: toothed crown, from perianth appendages) eFlora Treatment Author: J. Chris Pires, Glenn Keator & Robert E. Preston Reference: Keator 1992 Four Seasons 9:24--39; Mabberley 2015 Madroño 62:137--138
Dichelostemma congestum (Sm.) Kunth
NATIVE Leaf: 3--4, 4--35 cm, +- glaucous, keeled. Inflorescence: raceme-like, dense; scape 30--90 cm, +- scabrous; bracts wide-lanceolate, pale purple to green; pedicels 1--6 mm; flowers 6--15. Flower: perianth blue-purple, tube 8--10 mm, narrow-ovoid, +- narrowed above ovary, lobes ascending, 8--10 mm, crown erect, leaning away from anthers, 5--6 mm, narrow-lanceolate, deep-notched, +- purple; stamens 3, anthers 4--5 mm; ovary sessile 4--6 mm, style 5--6 mm. Chromosomes: n=9,18. Ecology: Open woodland, grassland; Elevation: < 2000 m. Bioregional Distribution: NW, CaR, n SN, ScV, n CCo, SnFrB; Distribution Outside California: to British Columbia. Flowering Time: Apr--Jun Synonyms: Brodiaea congesta Sm.; Hookera congesta (Sm.) Jeps. Jepson eFlora Author: J. Chris Pires, Glenn Keator & Robert E. Preston Reference: Keator 1992 Four Seasons 9:24--39; Mabberley 2015 Madroño 62:137--138 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Dichelostemma Next taxon: Dichelostemma ida-maia
Jepson Video for Dichelostemma congestumClick to watch the video.
Botanical illustration including Dichelostemma congestum
Citation for this treatment: J. Chris Pires, Glenn Keator & Robert E. Preston 2019, Dichelostemma congestum, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 7, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=22850, accessed on January 24, 2025.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on January 24, 2025.
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).
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Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
