Calochortus elegans

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{redirect-distinguish-text|Cyclobothra elegans (Pursh) Benth.|Cyclobothra elegans Torr., an illegitimate name in synonymy with Calochortus coeruleus}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Calochortus elegans - Flickr. 004.jpg

| image_caption = Calochortus elegans in Klamath Mountains

| genus = Calochortus

| species = elegans

| authority = Pursh 1813 not Baker 1875

| synonyms_ref = [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=301668 Kewe World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]

| synonyms =

• Cyclobothra elegans (Pursh) Benth.
• Calochortus nanus (Alph.Wood) Piper, syn of var. nanus
• Calochortus selwayensis H.St.John, syn of var. selwayensis

| status = G3

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{cite web | url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.156490 | title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 }}

}}

Calochortus elegans is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name elegant Mariposa lily, cat's ear, elegant cat's ears or star tulip.{{Cite web |title=Archived TJM 1993 treatment for CALOCHORTUS elegans |url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment?8349,8461,8477 |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=ucjeps.berkeley.edu}}{{Cite web |title=USDA Plants Database |url=https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CAEL |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=plants.usda.gov}} It is native to the western United States from northern California to Montana.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Calochortus%20elegans.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]

It is a perennial herb producing a slender, generally unbranched stem up to 15 centimeters in height. The basal leaf is 10 to 20 centimeters long and does not wither at flowering. The inflorescence bears 1 to 7 erect bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three sepals and three petals with very hairy inner surfaces and edges. Each petal is greenish white in color with a purple crescent above a hairless patch at the base. The fruit is a winged capsule about 2 centimeters long.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101462 Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 125 Cat’s ear, Calochortus elegans Pursh]

The bulb is a choice wild root vegetable when eaten cooked, and can be eaten raw to avoid starvation.{{Cite book|last=Reiner|first=Ralph E.|title=Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies|publisher=Glacier Park, Inc.|year=1969|pages=4}} It grows in open woodland and grassy hillsides.{{Cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAEL |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=www.wildflower.org}}

;Varieties

• Calochortus elegans var. amoenus (Greene) auct.
• Calochortus elegans var. amoenus hort.
• Calochortus elegans var. elegans Pursh - Idaho, Oregon, Washington
• Calochortus elegans var. lobbii Baker
• Calochortus elegans var. major Hook.
• Calochortus elegans var. minor Hook.
• Calochortus elegans var. nanus Alph.Wood - Oregon, northern California
• Calochortus elegans var. oreophilus Ownbey
• Calochortus elegans var. selwayensis (H.St.John) Ownbey - Idaho, Montana
• Calochortus elegans var. subclavatus Baker