Bloomeria crocea var montana started opening flowers today. Curiously CalFlora has sunk the three varieties under the main species name, however the other more encompassing authorities maintain the varietal status, so based on Flora Of North America and ITIS, the variety stands.
This plant never ceases to impress me, now perfectly hardy for the last 5 years, considering it is found in chaparral, yellow pine forests; 300--1000 m, with var. montana restricted to the southern Coast Ranges and the Tehachapi Mountains of Southern California. It does make seed (a tiny bit) and I do have some seedlings coming along.
It blooms late here (although earlier than normal this year, usually I have to wait to July to see the blooms). The stems are wire-thin, yet perfectly erect and never fall over or lean, even after last night's series of thunderstorms and torrential downpours, looking as fresh as ever this morning. The open inflorescence is very large, to about 8-9" in diameter (20-22.5 cm) on stems 18"-24" (45-60 cm). The flowers last a very long time. Some forms of B. crocea have brown midveins, although in my var. montana the flowers are pure bright yellow.
At peak flowering, I'll post again.
USDA
http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BLCRM
ITIS
http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_...
Flora of North America
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102175
CalFlora
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=1101