Lemmon's Star, Triteleia lemmonae.
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| Lemmon's Star, Triteleia lemmonae. Plant Photo Taken May 11, 2009. On General Crook Trail Between Camp Verde & Payson, Arizona.. |
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| Lemmon's Star, Triteleia lemmonae. Flowers Photos. Photo Taken May 11, 2009. On General Crook Trail Between Camp Verde & Payson, Arizona.. |
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| Lemmon's Star, Triteleia lemmonae. Flowers Photos. Photo Taken May 11, 2009. On General Crook Trail Between Camp Verde & Payson, Arizona.. |
Lemmon's Star Triteleia lemmonae is a herbaceous perennial with naked stems 6 - 9 inches tall. It has one to two dark green leaves up to 6 inches long. The inflorescence consists of an umbel with all rays more or less elongate and nearly equal. Its small involucel bracts are lanceolate or oblong. The star-shaped flowers are bright yellow fading to purplish, with lobes twice as long as the turbinate tube. The stamens are all alike, and the filaments are not winged. The family Themidaceae was set up very recently, to hold the genera formerly in the Alliaceae which were not compatible with that classification after DNA analysis. These include Brodiaea, Bessera, Dichelostemma, Milla, Muilla, and Triteleia. They are now considered to be more closely related to the Hyacinthaceae than to the alliums. All the former cormous genera that were once considered to belong in the Liliaceae family from Mexico and Western North America are now considered to belong to Themidaceae, although some taxonomists suggest moving them back or placing them in Alliaceae. Most recently they are suggested to belong in an expanded version of proposed expansion of Asparagaceae in a branch with Hyacinthaceae. In the Flora of North America they are still considered to belong in the Liliaceae family. With all of that being said; I will leave Triteleia lemmonae in the Lily Family (Liliaceae), until told differently. There is only one species of Triteleia in Arizona. It is in Apache, Coconino, and Gila counties.
Height: About 6 - 9 inches.
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