Pink funnel lily facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pink funnel lily |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Androstephium
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| Species: |
breviflorum
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Androstephium breviflorum is a beautiful flowering plant. People often call it the pink funnel lily or the small flowered androstephium. It gets its name from its pretty, funnel-shaped flowers.
Where This Flower Grows
This plant is a monocot, which means it has one seed leaf when it sprouts. It naturally grows in the dry deserts of the Western United States. You can find it from Wyoming and New Mexico all the way west. It lives in areas like the Great Basin and the Sonoran Desert. It also grows in the Mojave Desert of eastern California.
The pink funnel lily likes sandy or rocky soil. It grows in open desert areas. You can find it at elevations from about 330 feet (100 meters) up to 5,250 feet (1,600 meters).
What It Looks Like
Androstephium breviflorum is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It grows from a round, underground storage part called a corm. A corm is like a bulb.
A tall stem, called a peduncle, grows up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) high. This stem holds the flowers. Each plant can have up to 12 flowers. The flowers are shaped like funnels. They are white to light lavender in color. Each flower is about one or two centimeters long. This plant blooms from March to June.
After the flowers, a fruit grows. It is a capsule with three sections. It is just over one centimeter long.
How We Learned About It
The plant Androstephium breviflorum was first described in 1873. A scientist named Sereno Watson gave it its official name. He studied plants collected by Ellen Powell Thompson. She found the plant in 1872 near Kanab, Utah.
Ellen Powell Thompson was part of a survey team. This team explored the Colorado River. Her plant sample is very important. It is called the holotype. This means it is the original sample used to describe the species. It is kept safe at the United States National Herbarium.
