Comments
provided by eFloras
Triteleia laxa is very common at low altitudes in central California, growing under a variety of ecological conditions, with wide attendant variation, especially in flower size. It could be considered a species complex (like T. ixioides) made up of many forms, with consistent differences in chromosome number and in the size and shape of the anthers (M. P. Burbanck 1944). The flowers can be quite large or small, and usually are pale blue, but sometimes are white or deep bluish purple. These morphologies often intergrade, making it difficult to recognize formal varieties.
This species may occur in southwestern Oregon, but documentation of its presence there is lacking.
Triteleia ×tubergenii L. W. Lenz is a cultivated amphidiploid hybrid between T. laxa and T. peduncularis (L. W. Lenz 1970).
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Description
provided by eFloras
Leaves 20–40 cm × 4–25 mm. Scape 10–70 cm, smooth or scabrous near base. Flowers: perianth usually pale blue, sometimes deep bluish purple or white, 18–47 mm, tube attenuate at base, 12–25 mm, lobes gradually spreading, 8–20 mm; stamens attached alternately at 2 levels, horizontal and curved upward at apex, nearly equal; filaments linear, 3–6 mm, apical appendages present near base of adnate portion of filaments, membranous; anthers white to bluish, 2–5 mm, apex blunt to tapered; ovary 1/3–1/2 as long as stipe, either central or along proximal side of flower; pedicel ascending or spreading, often bent at apex, 1–10 cm. 2n = 16, 18, 28 (30), 32, 42, 48.
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Flowering/Fruiting
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Flowering spring (Apr--Jun).
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Habitat
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Open forests, mixed conifer or foothill woodlands, grasslands on clay soil; 0--1500m.
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Synonym
provided by eFloras
Brodiaea candida (Greene) Baker; B. laxa (Bentham) S. Watson; B. laxa var. candida (Greene) Jepson; B. laxa var. nimia Jepson; B. laxa var. tracyi Jepson; Hookera laxa (Bentham) Kuntze; Milla laxa (Bentham) Baker; Seubertia laxa (Bentham) Kunth; S. obscura Borzí; Triteleia angustiflora A. Heller; T. candida Greene
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Brief Summary
provided by EOL authors
Triteleia laxa is an attractive blue to blue-purple wildflower which occurs in southwestern Oregon to northwestern/central-west California. The species is found on forest floors and grasslands, most typically occurring on clay soils. Plant height does not generally exceed 70 centimeters. The common name of the species was taken from Ithuriel, an angel in Milton's Paradise Lost. According to Milton, this wondrous spear caused everything it touched to assume its true form.
Triteleia laxa: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Triteleia laxa (previously Brodiaea laxa) is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear, common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally found in southwestern Oregon. It bears a tall, naked stem topped with a spray of smaller stalks, each ending in a purple or blue flower. The flower is tubular, opening into a sharply six-pointed star. The plant grows from a corm which is edible and similar in taste and use as the potato. The most used common name for the species, Ithuriel's spear, is a reference to the angel Ithuriel from Milton's Paradise Lost.
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