Dotted here and there amongst the sagebrush along the south side of Lac Du Bois Grasslands Provincial Park is this beauty: Calochortus macrocarpus, or sagebrush mariposa lily. In the book Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia, the authors point out that “mariposa” means butterfly in Spanish. You can likely see the resemblance.
Unfortunately, the authors also point out that Calochortus macrocarpus is a tasty plant for cattle, one of the reasons it is now quite uncommon. To whit:
“Sagebrush mariposa lily is highly palatable to livestock and it will disappear from highly grazed areas. This species was once widespread, but it is now considerably less common and harvesting the flowers or bulbs is discouraged because it destroys the entire plant.”
Miller, Allen and Antos, in the Canadian Journal of Botany 82(12): 1790-1799 (2004), observed that individual plants of Calochortus macrocarpus can remain dormant (i.e., not emerging above ground during a a growing season) for a period of one to four years (source / abstract: Dormancy and flowering in two mariposa lilies (Calochortus) with contrasting distribution patterns.). This seems to be a strategy by the plant to avoid unfavourable environmental conditions in a particular year, allowing it to instead grow within an environmental regime that is more favourable to eventual reproduction.
In Botany Photo of the Day news, “The Golden Swamp”, a weblog that showcases open content for learning, featured this site on June 21.
How refreshingly unique. What a stunning piece of God's handiwork.
hi,again. down here in DM mariposa is a very familiar palabra(word)yo se poquito de espanol de mexico. gracias!
I love the pics! Nice color...
Thanks for the compliments all.
Gabriel: I humbly suggest that the form and structure of this flower that we see today is the byproduct of millions of years of evolution, a process of continual change that is still in action today. Our observation that it is “beautiful” is at least in part a learned response to the different, the rare and the unusual.
All that being said, I think that whatever or whoever we choose to ascribe the mystery of how this flower came to be, whether it be evolution, or God, or Allah, or Modimo, those of us who enjoy it for its form and structure can revel in it.
One of the highlights of my annual spring "botanizing hikes" is the sight of one (or all in a rainy year) of our 3 local Calochortus species that grow in the mountains next to the Mojave Desert. They are just drop-dead gorgeous. Your Calochortus, though, beats our species for color and delicacy. What a treat for the eyes. Thanks for the gorgeous photos.
Sandy - Tehachapi, CA
just found a field of these lovlies and found it a most transformative experience. I don't know if a god was involved, but the precious, fragile colour and petal form in marked contrast to the sturdy resiliency they showed by growing in the semi-desert, surrounded by sagebrush and cacti, certainly gave me the feeling something supernatural was at work. Vancouver BC Canada
This is most definitely , one if the most beautiful flowers I have seen, even if only in pictures. Will they, by any chance, survive in the southeastern part of the US? Does anyone know?
Hi Julie - I have my doubts. I'm not a horticulturist, but from its ecological requirements, it seems the southeastern US would not meet its needs. Might be a question to ask on the garden's discussion forums to see if someone's had any experience with it.
The Mariposa lily is truly an amazing plant, so beautiful, but also so well adapted to drought and uncertain rainfall. This flower, along with Brodia, grows in VAST abundance over such an insanely huge range - it is beyond silly to call it "endangered" in any way. In drought years it certainly does disappear, but when the rains come back, so does the Mariposa, with a vengeance! On my family's property in Northeastern Oregon, most plants had 6 blooms, some had 12-13, and there were 20+ plants per square yard! The year before there were much less, of course, but still plenty.
Do you know that when the Mormons first came to the Salt Lake area, they were starving and the local indians showed them to eat Calochortus nuttallii (Sego lily) and thus saved the lives of many early pioneers? The entire plant is edible, blooms, seed buds, stem, leaf and bulb.
Thanks for the photo Daniel.
I saw this plant last weekend up in Skihist park (close to Lytton BC).
Laura (the one that knew the late Vivian, I miss her!)
When I first bought my digital camera, I took pictures of flowers every chance I had. One day I was traveling back from Spokane, headed west on Hwy 2. It is a very desolate area. The ground was parched and cracked in temperatures over 100 degrees. I didn't really expect to find any flowers along the way. As I drove I noticed some white specks way off the road and wondered what they could be. As it turned out, the specks were, for me an amazing find. They were the Calochortus Macrocarpus. They had no leaves to speak of. Imagine my surprise discovering such exquisite flowers, some almost 5" across, in the most desolate area in Washington state. I can send photos if anyone is interested.