Calochortus aureus

Calochortus aureus is a North American species of flowering plants in the lily family.^[3][4] It is native to the southwestern United States (Arizona, southern Utah, northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado).^[5][6] Calochortus aureus is a bulb-forming perennial herb producing a single stalk up to 30 cm tall. Flowers are bright lemon-yellow with red or purple splotches on the petals.^[7]

Calochortus aureus
Near Crystal Forest site in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Genus:	Calochortus
Species:	C. aureus
Binomial name
Calochortus aureus S.Watson
Synonyms[2]
Calochortus nuttallii var. aureus (S.Watson) Ownbey

Taxonomy

The species is classified in the Calochortus genus in the family Liliaceae. It has no subspecies or varieties.^[2]

History

Calochortus aureus was published by Sereno Watson in 1873,^[8] based on material collected by Ellen Powell Thompson in 1872 in the vicinity of Kanab, Utah, during the US Topographical and Geological Survey of the Colorado River (led by John Wesley Powell). Her specimen is deposited at the United States National Herbarium (US). It was later reclassified as Calochortus nuttallii var. aureus by Ownbey, but is now recognized as a full species, as originally described.^[9]