LILY FAMILY. Liliaceae. 



A wonderful flower, exceedingly brilliant 

 Orange Mariposa and unusua i j n color, not quite like any- 

 Calochortus thing else in nature. The stout, firm stem 



Kennedyi is from two inches to over a foot tall and 



Orange-red the leaves are dark-green, with a delicate 



Caflriz bluish "bloom." The flowers are about 



two inches across, with pale-green sepals, 

 bordered with pale-pink and orange inside, and beautiful 

 petals, thick in texture and easily bruised, delicate peach- 

 color outside and bright orange-vermilion within, each 

 petal ornamented with a purplish gland, covered with 

 matted hairs and crossed with a band of long vermilion 

 hairs. When the stems are very short the flaming flowers 

 look like Crocuses, sprouting out of the barren desert soil, 

 but when they are tall they have the gorgeous effect of 

 Tulips. These plants grow in the Mohave Desert, but are 

 rather rare in California. They are very abundant in the 

 foothills and on the mountain slopes of Arizona, giving a 

 beautiful orange-red color to the landscape for miles in 

 spring, there being literally thousands in a small area. 



These pretty flowers are about two 



Sego Lily inches across, their white petals tinged 



Mariposa Tuhp 



Calochdrtus with yellowish-green or lilac, and often 



Nuttallii delicately fluted at the edges, often with 



White, pale lilac hairy spots inside the petals at their base, 

 Early summer th whole flower yery var i a bl e in coloring. 

 Ariz., Cal., Utah 



These Mariposas grow all through the 



Southwest. In the Grand Canyon they begin to come out 

 early in May, among the dry grasses halfway down the 

 Bright Angel trail, and are a lovely shade of clear lilac. The 

 slender stem, about a foot tall, often bears a small bulb near 

 the base. It is called Sego Lily (pronounced Sego) in Utah 

 and is the "State flower." Its bulbs formed a substantial 

 part of the food of the early Mormon pioneers when they 

 crossed the desert and the flower is therefore held in great 

 esteem in Utah. 



