About Calochortus persistens Ownbey
Calochortus persistens Ownbey is a rare North American flowering plant in the lily family, commonly called the Siskiyou mariposa lily. It is native to northern California and southern Oregon. This species grows at around nine scattered sites on the Gunsight-Humbug Ridge, plus multiple locations on Cottonwood Peak and Little Cottonwood Peak, all in Siskiyou County, California; it also has one small population of just a few individuals on Bald Mountain near Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon. It grows on rocky slopes, in acidic soils and talus. This is a perennial herb that produces an unbranching stem roughly 10 centimeters tall. It typically has one basal leaf around 20 centimeters long that persists through flowering, plus one smaller leaf higher up on the stem. The inflorescence holds a pair of erect, bell-shaped flowers, with pinkish-purple sepals and petals measuring 3.5 to 4 centimeters in length. The petals have bright yellow hairs near their bases. The fruit is a winged capsule around one centimeter long. Threats to this rare species include invasive species, wildfire suppression, and the construction and maintenance of roads and radio towers. The non-native noxious weed dyer's woad (Isatis tinctoria) directly competes with this mariposa lily by monopolizing water and nutrients, and producing allelopathic substances that inhibit the lily's germination. Fire suppression at the California sites has led to overgrowth of native trees and shrubs including Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), which shade out small wildflowers like this mariposa lily.
