brodiaeas

genus Brodiaea

Member of brodiaea subfamily (subfamily Brodiaeoideae)
asparagus family (family Asparagaceae)
monocots (class Liliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Except for old historical records and extremely rare examples that I don't expect to encounter, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.

Key features:

length of peduncle (flower stem)
size of perianth
angle and shape of staminodes [the crown surrounding the stamens]

Labeled photos of brodiaea staminodes.

harvest brodiaea
Brodiaea elegans

scape 10–50 cm.
perianth 29–47 mm long
staminodes held away from stamens, flat
elevation < 8000 ft.

photo

crown brodiaea
Brodiaea coronaria

the height of harvest brodiaea, but with staminodes similar to dwarf brodiaea
scape 5–25 cm; pedicel ≤ 7 cm
perianth 23–37.5 mm
staminodes leaning toward or parallel to stamens
Quicksilver, Edgewood, Mt. Tam, and various off-park locations

dwarf brodiaea
Brodiaea terrestris

scape 0.5–7 cm (for local ssp.)
perianth 15–40 mm long
staminodes leaning toward or parallel to stamens, tips generally reflexed, margins ¼ incurved below tip.
elevation < 1500 ft.

starflower brodiaea
Brodiaea stellaris

perianth ≤ 25 mm

[all others are ≥ 21.5 mm]

staminodes about as wide as the perianth lobes

[all others have narrower staminodes]

extremely rare: restricted area of Windy Hill

2 observed taxons / 2 unobserved taxons / 1 key

Chris’s observations: 40 (34 are research grade)

Locations:

Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve: 6
Henry Coe SP: 5
Monte Bello OSP: 5
Calero CP: 3
Coyote Lake / Harvey Bear Ranch CP: 3
Wilder Ranch SP: 3
Andrew Molera SP: 2
Santa Teresa CP: 2
Sunol Wilderness RP: 2
Almaden Quicksilver CP
Ansel Adams Wilderness
Castle Rock SP
Five Canyons Open Space
Mt. Madonna SP
Sibley Volcanic RP
Sierra Vista OSP
Skyline Ridge OSP
Sweeney Ridge National Recreation Area

Months:

Apr.: 6
May: 12
Jun.: 16
Jul.: 5
Aug.: 0
Sep.: 1

For more details, use advanced search.

Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora – FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora