LILY FAMILY. Liliaceae. 
The commonest kind in northern Cali- 
Butterfly Tulip = fornia, found in both the Sierra Nevada 
Mariposa Tulip : 
Calochértus liteus 20d Coast Mountains, and one of the most 
var. oculdtus beautiful of all the Mariposas. The broad 
Many colors petals, each about an inch and a half long, 
Spring, summer a+6 usually white, lilac, or yellowish, with 
California 5 
an ‘‘eye”’ like that on a peacock’s feather, 
giving the name oculatus. Occasionally they are deep rose- 
color, as in the colored picture, though this is not typical, 
~ and have a vivid blotch of shaded maroon and crimson and 
an orange spot on each petal, with some maroon-colored 
hairs at the base. The sepals are striped with pink and 
maroon and twist into spirals as they fade; the pistil and 
the blunt anthers are mauve; the honey-gland narrowly 
crescent-shaped; the leaves pale-green and the delicate 
stem over a foot tall. This Mariposa is extremely variable 
and seems sometimes to merge into C. venistus, a similar 
kind, and gorgeous varieties of both may be seen along the 
Yosemite road on the down grade to Wawona. ‘There are 
many similar Mariposas, but the casual flower-lover who 
finds any of these beautiful flowers will probably be satis- 
fied to know that they are Butterfly Tulips, without going 
into the technical peculiarities which differentiate them. 
A fine robust plant, about a foot tall, 
with a stout stem, light, bright green leaves, 
and exceedingly handsome flowers, over 
Yellow Mariposa 
Tulip 
Calochoértus liteus 
var. citrinus two inches across. The sepals are yellow- 
Yellow ish, with a black spot and streaks of brown, 
Spring 
and the petals are deep lemon-yellow, 
each with a rich maroon spot near the 
center and a hairy, brown, crescent-shaped gland below, 
often flecked with maroon at the margins and base, with 
cream-colored anthers and a yellowish pistil. This is very 
much like a Tulip in character and looks very gay and 
cheerful growing in green fields. The typical C. luteus is 
similar, but smaller and duller in color. 
California 
