Synonyms: Other names: common alplily Nomenclature: serotina = late Nativity / Invasiveness: Montana native plant
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Description
General: perennial, about 5-15 cm tall, from short thick rhizomes, the erect stems and basal leaves of each year surrounded by brownish, sheathing, persistent bracts that wither away near ground level and simulate a bulb with several coats.
Leaves: the basal ones mostly 4-10 cm long and about 1 mm broad. Stem leaves 2-4, alternate, much shorter than the basal and 1-2 mm broad.
Flowers: mostly solitary, sometimes 2, broadly bell-shaped, white, with greenish or more often purplish veins or tinge. The 6 tepals oblong or broadly oblanceolate, mostly 9-12 mm long. Stamens 1/2-2/3 as long as the tepals, about as long as the style. Ovary 3-celled, the style short, persistent, shortly lobed.
June-July.
Fruits: capsule, obovoid, 6-8 mm long, opening lengthwise along the middle of the 3 compartments, with numerous seeds.
Distribution
Gravelly ridges, cliffs, and rock crevices in the alpine zone, in w. and c. parts of MT. Also from AK to Alberta, WA, OR and s. to NM and NV, and in Eurasia.
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