Tolmie's star-tulip facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tolmie's star-tulip
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Genus:	Calochortus
Species:	C. tolmiei
Binomial name
Calochortus tolmiei Hook. & Arn.
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Calochortus tolmiei is a beautiful flowering plant from North America. It belongs to the lily family and is often called Tolmie's star-tulip or pussy ears. A doctor named William Fraser Tolmie discovered this plant, and it was named after him.

This plant grows naturally along the west coast of the United States. You can find it in Oregon and northern California, as far south as Santa Cruz County. It used to grow in Washington too, but it seems to have disappeared from there now. This plant is common in many different natural areas.

What Tolmie's Star-Tulip Looks Like

Calochortus tolmiei is a perennial herb. This means it is a plant that comes back year after year, and it has soft, green stems instead of woody ones. It grows a thin stem that can be up to 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) tall. Sometimes the stem branches out, and sometimes it doesn't.

At the bottom of the plant, there is a long leaf that can be up to 40 centimeters long. This leaf stays green even when the plant flowers. Usually, there's also a smaller leaf higher up on the stem.

The Flowers

The plant produces one flower or a cluster of bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three petals and three narrower sepals. Sepals are like small, leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud.

The petals are usually white, pale pink, or light purple. They can be up to 2.5 centimeters (about 1 inch) long. A cool thing about these petals is that they are often very hairy on the inside. They might even have long hairs along their edges, which is why some people call them "pussy ears"!

Seeds and Fruit

After the flower blooms, it turns into a fruit called a capsule. This capsule is winged, meaning it has flat, wing-like edges. It is about 2 or 3 centimeters long and holds several dark brown seeds inside.