SAGEBRUSH MARIPOSA 
Calochortus macrocarpus Douglas 
The genus Calochortus, comprising the mariposas, which are often 
called mariposa lilies or butterfly tulips, the globe-tulips, and several 
kinds of pussy-ears, contains about fifty species. Nearly all of them 
are so beautiful that they command the admiration of all who see 
them. Our experience with the sagebrush mariposa was a revelation 
of nature’s methods. Our camp had been pitched on a dry bench fifty 
feet above the Kootenay River near Canal Flats, British Columbia, 
where the sparse vegetation indicated a lack of moisture. One night 
a heavy storm of wind and rain came up. A few days later the miracle 
was manifest, for all around the tent the buds of the sagebrush mari- 
posa were almost ready to unfold, and soon the plants were in perfect 
bloom. There are myriads of them in some parts of the Columbia 
River Valley, where the little prairies are colored purple with their 
flowers. 
This mariposa is found in sagebrush plains from Montana to Ore- 
gon and northward to British Columbia. 
The specimen figured was sketched at the camp mentioned above, 
neat Canal Flats, British Columbia, Canada, at an altitude of 3,500 feet. 
PLATE 175 
