Brodiaea

Brodiaea ˌbroʊˈdiːə,_ˌbroʊdiˈiːə, also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants. One school of thought places the genus in the family , while another school of thought places it in the subfamily Brodiaeoideae of the family Asparagaceae. The USDA Plants Database still classifies the genus Brodiaea in the family Liliaceae. Brodiaea species occur along the Pacific Coast region of North America, from British Columbia throughout California into the Baja California Peninsula. They are especially common in northern California. Brodiaea species are herbaceous perennials, growing from corms. Between one and six narrow leaves are produced from the corm. The bare flowering stem (scape) carries an umbel of flowers. Individual flowers have six blue to purple tepals, joined at the base to form a tube with free lobes at the mouth. The outer three tepal lobes are narrower than the inner three. In almost all species, inside the tepals and joined to their bases are three sterile stamens (staminodes), resembling small petals, each opposite one of the outer tepals. Three normal stamens are also joined to the bases of the tepals and are placed opposite the inner ones. The base of the filaments of the stamens may be expanded into various shapes, such as flaps or wings. The size and shape of the staminodes and of the structures at the base of the filaments are important diagnostic characters. The compound pistil is formed of three carpels forming a superior ovary with three locules. The style which emerges between the three stamens has a three-lobed stigma. The seeds are black. The origin of the scientific name of the genus is somewhat tangled. Specimens of what is now called Brodiaea were first collected by Archibald Menzies, botanist to the Vancouver Expedition, in 1792. Menzies collected the plant from the vicinity of the Strait of Georgia, named "New Georgia" by George Vancouver. The first published reference to the plant did not give it a name.