Biology of Scoliopus (Liliaceae). I. Phytogeography and systematics

Comparisons of a wide variety of vegetative, floral, and reproductive characters of Scoliopus reveal consistent differences between the Californian S. bigelovii and the Oregonian S. hallii, whose distributions are mapped. With leaf numbers greater than two reported, a spiral, rather than opposite, leaf arrangement is demonstrated. The floral morphology and geometry, which involve intricate pollination subunits, are related to an outbreeding pollination system. A pollination subunit is established by the terminally recurved stylar arms, the versatile, extrorse anthers, the unusual triangular gynoecium, and the nectariferous, petaloid outer tepals. The myrmecochorous dispersal patterns in Scoliopus based on subterranean stems, elongate twisting pedicels, capsules dehiscing in the upper duff layers, and elaiosomal seeds are discussed. The taxonomic relationship to Paris, Trillium, and Medeola is deemed remote.