Hartweg's doll's-lily
Odontostomum hartwegii Torr.
Odontostomum hartwegii, known as Hartweg's doll's-lily, is a flowering plant in the family Tecophilaeaceae. It is endemic to northern California, growing in rocky clay and serpentine soils in grasslands and woodlands, often near vernal pools. The plant is a perennial herb with an oval corm, a branching stem up to half a meter tall, and linear leaves up to 30 centimeters long. Its inflorescence consists of a raceme or panicle with white or yellowish flowers, each having six tepals, six stamens, and six staminodes surrounding the gynoecium.
Description
Odontostomum hartwegii is the sole species in the monotypic genus Odontostomum. It was first described in 1857 and is native to the inner coastal mountain ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills of California. The plant grows from a corm up to 3 centimeters wide and features a curving, widely branching stem. The leaves are linear and sheath the lower part of the stem. The flowers, which bloom on pedicels in a raceme or panicle, have six tepals with fused lower parts and reflexed tips. The reproductive structures include six stamens and six staminodes arranged in a ring around the central gynoecium.
Other common names
Hartweg's doll's-lily
Distribution
California