Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 10, 2006.

Basal leaves of L. glabrum are one half to an inch in diameter and far more easily noticed than the flowers.

The basal leaves can easily be confused with those of Delphinium nuttallianum which is often found growing in the same habitat and blooming at the same time.

The maroon-red bulbous growths shown in the center of the photograph at the left and at the bottom left of the photograph below are bulblets: L. glabrum commonly reproduces from bulblets rather than from seeds.  It is thus said to be viviparous:  it asexually produces plants genetically identical to itself as sprouts on itself.  These bulblets fall to the ground, root, and produce new plants.  (See also Bistorta vivipara.)

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 10, 2006.

"Glabrum" is Latin for "smooth" and perhaps refers to the relative smoothness of the basal leaves.  (Most of the plant is, however, often very hairy as the photographs show.)

Thomas Nuttall named the species from a specimen he collected in Oregon in 1834 on the Wyeth Expedition.  The plant is common in the Four Corners area of Colorado and Utah but does not exist in New Mexico or Arizona.

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 18, 2007.

Lithophragma parviflorum inhabits the same areas that its close cousin L. glabellum does: moist, open Ponderosa and Aspen woods.  Its flowers are usually bright white whereas those of L. glabellum are often light pink.  Both plants scatter themselves widely over broad areas and you will often see them all day long as you walk a woods that favors their growth.  L. parviflorum reproduces from seeds rather than bulblets.  Although the plant is common in Montezuma County, Colorado, it is not found in any other counties in the Four Corners area.

William Jackson Hooker named this plant Tellima parviflora in 1832 from a specimen that David Douglas collected in Washington in 1825.  Thomas Nuttall renamed it Lithophragma parviflorum in 1840.

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 18, 2007.

The shape of this flower quickly distinguishes L. parviflorum from L. glabrum.  The shape of its hypanthium, the swollen cup-like structure formed by the fused bases of the stamens, petals, and sepals that distinguishes this species from L. tenellum .  The hypanthium of L. parviflorum gradually tapers below the petals; the hypanthium of L. tenellum is almost spherical.  See the last two photographs on this page.

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Upper Bear Creek Trail, May 31, 2007.

Hidden in grasses and Blue-Eyed Mary flowers, tiny L. tenellum stands out only because of its cluster of white flowers.  

Thomas Nuttall named this species in 1840 from a specimen he collected in Wyoming on the Wyeth Expedition in 1834.

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, openings. Spring.
Upper Bear Creek Trail, May 31, 2007.

The rounded hypanthium (just below the white petals in the photograph at left) separates this Lithophragma from L. parviflorum  with its more cylindrical hypanthium in the photograph below.

Although it is a bit difficult to tell from my photograph at left, the petals of L. tenellum are cut five or six times.  In the photos of L. parviflorum you can see three cuts.