Lilium occidentale
Encyclopedia
Lilium occidentale is a rare species of lily
known by the common name western lily. It is native to northern California
and southern Oregon
, where it is known from 28 locations all within six miles of the coast. It grows in coastal prairie habitat, swamps and stagnant bog
s with Drosera species, bluffs and sandy cliffs, and seaside spruce forests. This rare wildflower is limited in distribution and directly endangered by a number of environmental factors; it is a federally listed endangered species
and it is listed as endangered by the states of California and Oregon.
This is a perennial herb sometimes exceeding two meters in height. It grows from a scaly, elongated bulb
which may be nearly 10 centimeters long. The leaves grow in a series of whorls around the stem. They may be linear to oval in shape and over 20 centimeters long. The inflorescence
bears up to 35 showy nodding lily flowers. The flower has 6 recurved tepal
s each up to 8 centimeters long, sometimes curled back into complete rings. The tepals are usually red to orange to yellow-green, generally bicolored with more red on the inside and more greenish yellow on the outer surfaces. They are often spotted. There are six stamen
s with large red anthers up to 1.4 centimeters long, and a pistil
which may be more than 5 centimeters in length. The flower is pollinated
chiefly by hummingbird
s, including Allen's Hummingbird
(Selasphorus sasin).
Threats to this species have included grazing
and trampling by livestock
, development and ranching, cranberry
farming
, genetic drift
, vehicles and road maintenance, and horticultural collecting
of the bulbs and flowers. New sprouts and shoots dry out quickly and are easily crushed. The invasion of tree
s into the plant's habitat, either by natural succession
or deliberate planting and fire suppression
, can alter the hydrology and soil structure enough to eliminate it. When the plant was listed as an endangered species in 1994, there were 2000 to 3000 individuals remaining.
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
known by the common name western lily. It is native to northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, where it is known from 28 locations all within six miles of the coast. It grows in coastal prairie habitat, swamps and stagnant bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s with Drosera species, bluffs and sandy cliffs, and seaside spruce forests. This rare wildflower is limited in distribution and directly endangered by a number of environmental factors; it is a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
and it is listed as endangered by the states of California and Oregon.
This is a perennial herb sometimes exceeding two meters in height. It grows from a scaly, elongated bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
which may be nearly 10 centimeters long. The leaves grow in a series of whorls around the stem. They may be linear to oval in shape and over 20 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears up to 35 showy nodding lily flowers. The flower has 6 recurved tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s each up to 8 centimeters long, sometimes curled back into complete rings. The tepals are usually red to orange to yellow-green, generally bicolored with more red on the inside and more greenish yellow on the outer surfaces. They are often spotted. There are six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s with large red anthers up to 1.4 centimeters long, and a pistil
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
which may be more than 5 centimeters in length. The flower is pollinated
Ornithophily
Ornithophily or Bird Pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds. This coevolutionary association is derived from insect pollination and is particularly well developed in some parts of the world, especially in the tropics and on some island chains. The association involves several...
chiefly by hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s, including Allen's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
The Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, is a species of hummingbird.The Allen's Hummingbird is a small bird, with mature adults reaching only 3 to 3½ inches in length. The male Allen's has a green back and forehead, with rust-colored rufous flanks, rump, and tail. The male's throat is also an...
(Selasphorus sasin).
Threats to this species have included grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
and trampling by livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, development and ranching, cranberry
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
farming
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, genetic drift
Genetic drift
Genetic drift or allelic drift is the change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random sampling.The alleles in the offspring are a sample of those in the parents, and chance has a role in determining whether a given individual survives and reproduces...
, vehicles and road maintenance, and horticultural collecting
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
of the bulbs and flowers. New sprouts and shoots dry out quickly and are easily crushed. The invasion of tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s into the plant's habitat, either by natural succession
Ecological succession
Ecological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
or deliberate planting and fire suppression
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, can alter the hydrology and soil structure enough to eliminate it. When the plant was listed as an endangered species in 1994, there were 2000 to 3000 individuals remaining.