Pitkin Marsh Lily
See photo info

Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

PITKIN MARSH LILY
(Lilium pardalinum ssp. pitkinense

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 62-54791  pdf; October 22, 1997)

CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.

RECOVERY PLAN:  Recovery Plan for Coastal Plants (under development)

DESCRIPTION:

Pitkin Marsh lily (Lilium pardalinum ssp. pitkinense) is a perennial in the lily family (Liliaceae). The erect stems reach 3 to 6 feet in height. The leaves are yellow-green, up to 5.5 inches long, and 0.4 to 0.8 inches wide. The leaves are generally scattered along the stem, but in some plants occur in 2 or 3 whorls of 3 to 6 leaves near the middle of the stem.

Flowers bloom from June to July. They are large, showy and nodding. The petals are red at the outer edge changing to yellow at the center with small deep maroon dots. The anthers are purple-brown.

This species is distinguished from the more common leopard lily (Lilium pardalinum ssp. pardalinum) by its shorter petals and anthers. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of both subspecies.

DISTRIBUTION:

Pitkin Marsh lily grows only in freshwater marshes and wet meadows in Sonoma County. It has been found in only a few locations.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

This showy species has declined in numbers from the collection of plants, seeds and bulbs for household and horticultural use. Other threats include competition from other plants and changes in the hydrology of the marsh.

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in November 1978. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Beane, L. 1955. Some undescribed lilies from the Pacific Coast and a preliminary revision of the southern California species formerly associated with Lilium humboldtii. Contributions from the Dudley Herbarium. 4:356.

Rubtzoff, P. 1953. A phytogeographical analysis of the Pitkin Marsh (Sonoma County). Wasmann Journal of Biology. 11:129-219.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1997. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Nine Plants From the Grasslands or Mesic Areas of the Central Coast of California. Portland, Oregon.

General Information about California Plants

Photo credits:

Photo of whole plant: J. E.(Jed) and Bonnie McClellan © 1999 California Academy of Sciences Calphoto ID: 8253 3202 4138 0017.

Close-up photo: Robert Potts © 2001 California Academy of Sciences Calphoto ID: 9189 3301 3541 0074.

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Contact us: Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825 Phone (916) 414-6600 ~ FAX (916) 414-6713 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the United States Government Department of Interior Many documents on our web site are published using Adobe's® Portable Document Format (PDF). To display or print these documents, you must use the Acrobat® reader, which you can download free at Acrobat® Reader. Privacy and Security, Disclaimer, Copyright and Technology Requirements Webmaster fw1sacweb@fws.gov (To comment on specific issues see our comment page.) is the U.S. Government Search Engine Regulations.gov - Federal web site that makes it easier for you to participate in Federal rulemaking. On this site, you can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register, the Government's legal newspaper.

Students! Career-related training and employment. Protect and conserve fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Vacation, holiday and sick leave. Your student job could lead to a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Check out the national Student Job page.