82 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



one the children know as the surprise 

 Hly {Calochortiis macrocarpus) . 



Bud of Surprise Lily. 



The flower is well named, for no 

 matter how thoroughly convinced you 

 may be that it is concealed in a par- 

 ticular sweep of sagebrush, when you 

 come across it you are startled anew 

 by its gentle dignity and poise. Most 

 of our sagebrush flowers bloom in the 

 early spring; this one waits until late 

 May or June when all other flowers 

 haye been literally scorched away and 

 the ground is baked hard. The sur- 

 prise lily is then at its best, and one 

 may gather great armfuls of the 

 beautiful layender flower. 



The flower belongs to the same group as the mariposa 

 lily, and the group has been particularly well named CalocJior- 

 fns. The word comes from the Greek words kalos and clwrtos, 

 meaning beautiful grass. The group was so called because 

 the leaves are always reed-like and when it is in bloom it is 

 indeed a beautiful grass-like plant. The species name, of 

 course, comes from the fact that the seed carpels are unusually 

 large, frequently being oyer three inches long. 



The flower was first collected by Douglas, the Scotch 

 botanist, who was sent out b}^ the London Horticultural 

 Society. In his first journc}^ in 1825 he explored much of 

 Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. He found the surprise lily, 

 as he says, ''on the dry barren grounds around the Great Falls 

 of the Columbia and on the summit of the low hills between 

 them and the Grand Rapids." It is coextensive with the sage- 

 brush, which corresponds agriculturally with the reg'ion \\ here 

 the growing of peaches and watermelons is practicable. 



