Lilium kelleyanum - along JMT north of Vidette Meadow (10100 feet)
This article is a short discussion of two plants in the Liliaceae, in the genus Lilium. I had seen these both of these giant lilies in the Sierra, and a person can hardly help but noticing them -- but I had not realized there were two species! A case of things being hidden in plain sight until you pay close attention.
Looking at them side by side by this, they are as different as night and day. L. parvum is two-tone with big colored anthers that don't extend far beyond the corolla. L. kelleyanum is yellow with spots, the petals are reflexed and the anthers are markedly exserted.
The keys in the Jepson Guide are informative without digging deep into the botanical lingo. The first split in the keys for Lilium is whether the flowers are nodding (L. parvum) or pendant (L. kelleyanum). So in general, L. parvum has flowers that tend to hold their heads up, whereas L. kelleyanum has flowers that tend to dangle.
The whole business is made less obvious by the fact that these plants for the most part don't live in the same regions. There is an area of overlap (southern Mono County).
L. parvum is found in the northern Sierra: Yosemite Park and the Mammoth Lakes region.
L. kelleyanum is found in "Seki" (Sequoia Kings Canyon).
The Jepson guide says about L. kelleyanum that it is found in hillside seeps, wet
thickets, streamsides in subalpine forest 2200 to 3300 meters (7200 to 10800 feet).
Intergrades with L. parvum in southern Mono County.
It has the common name Kelley's Lily.
The Jepson guide says for L. parvum that it is found in wet meadows, willow thickets,
streams in conifer forest 1400 to 2900 meters (4600 to 9500 feet).
It has the common names Alpine Lily or Sierra Tiger Lily.
Southern Mono County would be the John Muir wilderness and the Mammoth Lakes region. So from Bishop south, you would not expect to see L. parvum.
Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org