Calochortus nuttallii
Encyclopedia
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Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
ous perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
which is endemic to the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. It is the state flower of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Description
The Sego Lily has 1 to 4 flowers, each with 3 white petalPetal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s (and 3 sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s) which are tinged with lilac (occasionally magenta) and have a purplish band radiating from the yellow base. These appear in early summer. Plants are around 15–45 cm (6–18 inches) in height and have linear leaves.
Uses
The bulbs of this and other Calochortus species were roasted, boiled or made into a porridgePorridge
Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and were also used as a food source by the Mormon pioneers in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Currently, it is grown as an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for its attractive tulip-shaped flowers.
State Flower
The flower was chosen as the state flower of Utah due to its importance in pioneering times and its "natural beauty". It was formally adopted on March 18, 1911.Distribution
The plant is native to a number of western states including IdahoIdaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Taxonomy
The Sego Lily is a species within the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Calochortus
Calochortus
Calochortus is a genus of bulbous plants that includes 70 species from British Columbia to Guatemala and east to Nebraska. Calochortus is the most widely dispersed genus of Liliaceae on the North American Pacific coast. Of these, 28 species are endemic to California...
, in a sub-group generally referred to as Mariposa Lilies. The specific epithet nuttallii, named for the English botanist and zoologist, Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
, was ascribed to the species by the American botanists John Torrey and Asa Gray
Asa Gray
-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
when it was officially described in 1857.
A number of former varieties of Calochortus nuttallii are currently treated as species in their own right as follows:
- var. aureus (S.Watson) Ownbey is currently Calochortus aureus S.Watson
- var. australis MunzMunzMunz may refer to:* Peter Munz , philosopher and historian* Mieczysław Munz , Polish-US pianist* Philip A. Munz , American botanist, taxonomist and educator* Maritime Union of New Zealand, a trade union in New Zealand...
is currently Calochortus invenustusCalochortus invenustusCalochortus invenustus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name plain mariposa lily. It is native to the mountain ranges of California, where it grows in the coniferous forests. Its range may extend just into Nevada. It is a perennial herb which produces a...
GreeneEdward Lee GreeneEdward Lee Greene, Ph.D., was an American botanist known for his numerous publications including the two-part Landmarks of Botanical History and the naming or redescribing of over 4,400 species of plants in the American West.- Early Life :Edward Lee Greene was born on August 20, 1843 in...
- var. bruneaunis (A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.) Ownbey is currently Calochortus bruneaunsis A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.
- var. leichtlinii (Hook.f.) SmileySmileyA smiley, smiley face, or happy face, is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly occurring in popular culture. It is commonly represented as a yellow circle with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth...
is currently Calochortus leichtliniiCalochortus leichtliniiCalochortus leichtlinii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Leichtlin's Mariposa and smokey mariposa. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau of California and adjacent parts of Oregon and Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and chaparral...
Hook.f. - var. panamintensis Ownbey is currently Calochortus panamintensisCalochortus panamintensisCalochortus panamintensis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Panamint mariposa lily. It is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is known only from the Panamint Range near Death Valley. Its range may technically extend just into Nevada. It is a...
(Ownbey) RevealJ.L. RevealJames Lauritz Reveal is a botanist, professor emeritus at the Norton Brown Herbarium, Maryland .He is perhaps best known for his work on suprageneric names, presented in an extensive , which also presents material on , including several systems of plant taxonomy...
- var. subalpinus M.E.Jones is currently Calochortus leichtliniiCalochortus leichtliniiCalochortus leichtlinii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Leichtlin's Mariposa and smokey mariposa. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau of California and adjacent parts of Oregon and Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and chaparral...
Hook.f
Cultivation
Sego lilies prefer a deep, sandy soil with good drainage and are cold-hardy. Plants can be propagatedPlant propagation
Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...
from newly-formed bulblets which take two years to flower.