About Calochortus nudus S.Watson
Calochortus nudus S.Watson is a perennial herb that grows an unbranched stem reaching up to around 25 centimeters tall. It has one basal leaf that measures 5 to 15 centimeters long, and this leaf does not wither when the plant flowers. The inflorescence holds one or more erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three small, pointed sepals and three wider petals, all of which are pinkish or lavender in color. The petals are about 1.5 centimeters long and mostly hairless. After flowering, the plant produces a capsule fruit that is roughly 2 centimeters long. The specific epithet "nudus", which literally means "nude", refers to the complete lack of hairs on the plant's petals, a feature that distinguishes it from many other species in the Calochortus genus, which do have petal hairs. This species grows primarily in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountain ranges, with a range extending from Josephine County and Jackson County in Oregon south to Tulare County in California. There is one recorded outlying, disjunct population in eastern San Bernardino County, California. It inhabits moist grassy areas, lake shores, and bog margins.
