Both Streptopus

Streptopus amplexifolius vs Streptopus lanceolatus

These two are not on this page because a keyword tool suggested them. They are here because our own identification model genuinely mistook one for the other, on real photographs, 3 times. We publish the rate, and then we tell you what actually separates them.

Confused 3x by our model Same genus Streptopus Method published

Side by sidefigs. a and b

Streptopus amplexifolius, photographed by Bruce Cook
fig. a Bruce Cook, CC0 1.0

Streptopus amplexifolius

white twisted-stalk
Streptopus lanceolatus, photographed by Bruce Cook
fig. b Bruce Cook, CC0 1.0

Streptopus lanceolatus

rose twisted-stalk

How often our model gets it wrong measured, not estimated

When the plant was The model said How often
Streptopus lanceolatus Streptopus amplexifolius 3 of 20 (15%)

Measured on 38,949 openly licensed, research-grade photographs. Full method and dataset.

What actually separates themon the record

Family Both Liliaceae. The family does not separate them.
Genus Both Streptopus. Congeners, which is why this is hard.
Flowering Peaks in June versus May. If the plant is in flower, timing helps. (n = 290 and 602.)

What we do not have yet: the diagnostic morphological character that a botanist would key on, from a source we can cite. We are not going to invent one. Until we have it, this page tells you the two are genuinely confusable, how often, and what the taxonomy and the flowering data do and do not settle.

Both recordsfull pages