Umpqua mariposa lily – State Wildlife Action Plan

Photo Credit: Oregon Department of Agriculture

Umpqua mariposa lily is a bulbous perennial, 2-3 dm tall with a basal leaf averaging 32 cm in length. Like the closely related C. howellii, C. umpquaensis has hairs in parallel rows along the veins on the underside of the leaf. The one to several broadly cup-shaped flowers are 5.3-10.5 cm in diameter, hairy, and white to cream colored with a dark purple or black petal spot. Capsules are between 3 and 5.4 cm long and become pendant shortly after the flowers senesce.

Overview

Species Common Name Umpqua mariposa lily
Species Scientific Name Calochortus umpquaensis
State Listing Status Endangered

Ecoregions

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion covers much of southwestern Oregon, including the Klamath Mountains, Siskiyou Mountains, the interior valleys and foothills between these and the Cascade Range, and the Rogue and Umpqua river valleys. Several popular and scenic rivers run through the ecoregion, including the Umpqua, Rogue, Illinois, and Applegate rivers. Historically, this ecoregion is known …

West Cascades

The West Cascades ecoregion extends from east of the Cascade Mountains summit to the foothills of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys, and spans the entire length of the state of Oregon. It is largely dominated by conifer forests, moving into alpine parklands and dwarf shrubs at higher elevations.

Special needs

The Umpqua mariposa lily occurs in grassland-forest ecotones on serpentine soils. This species can be found in a broad range of habitat types, from closed-canopy coniferous forests to open grass-forb meadows.

Limiting factors

The Umpqua mariposa lily is threatened by grazing, logging, nickel mining, road construction, herbicide drift, and invasive plants. Fire suppression leading to encroachment of woody vegetation also adversely affects this species. Bulb digging by collectors poses an additional threat. The species is moderately vulnerable to climate change, because of limited seed dispersal capabilities, endemism to serpentine soils, and predicted increased variability in temperatures.

Data gaps

Identify factors limiting distribution (reproduction, fecundity, etc.). Develop propagation and transplanting protocols.

Conservation actions

Continue to implement the interagency conservation agreement. Manage grazing, vehicle use, and logging in sensitive areas. Establish long-term monitoring. Collect/store seed from all populations. Survey for new populations. Develop voluntary conservation projects with private landowners.

Key reference or plan

A 1996 conservation agreement was signed by the BLM, USFS, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service