mariposa lily

/mar'euh poh"seuh, -zeuh/

any lily of the genus Calochortus, of the western U.S. and Mexico, having tuliplike flowers of various colors. Also called mariposa, mariposa tulip.

[1880-85, Amer.; < Sp mariposa butterfly, moth; so named because blooms were likened to butterflies]

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▪ plant

 (genus Calochortus), tuliplike perennial plants of the lily family (Liliaceae), consisting of about 40 species native to western North America. They have simple or somewhat branched stems, 15 to 130 cm (0.5 foot to 4 feet) tall, rising from corms (bases of modified underground stems) and bearing a few narrow leaves and showy white, yellow, lilac, or bluish flowers, often spotted or marked in the centre. The three large broad petals, 2.5 to 5 cm long, usually bear a conspicuous basal gland.

      Several species are in cultivation, among them the sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii), native to dry soil from South Dakota to Washington and south to Oregon and California. Its white flowers are variously marked with yellow, purple, and lilac. The edible roots of the sego lily were used for food by the early Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake Valley.

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