Calochortus invenustus
Plain mariposa lily
Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Plain mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, central and southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, southeastern San Francisco Bay Area, south Coast Ranges, southwestern California, and Mojave Desert in dry, generally granitic montane conifer forest at elevations of 1,500 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces white or lilac flowers with occasional purple spots, bell-shaped and 20 to 40 millimeters long with green stripes on the outer surface. Growing 20 to 50 centimeters tall with slender, generally simple stems and distinctive bulblets, it emerges with glaucous (bluish-gray) appearance. Its basal leaves are 10 to 20 centimeters long and deeply channeled, while upper stem leaves are reduced and inrolled. The fruit is an erect, linear capsule 5 to 7 centimeters long with a long-tapered tip.
Habitat: dry soil, generally granitic, generally montane conifer forest
Bloom period: May-Aug
Elevation: 1500-3000 m
Bioregions: s SNF, c&s SNH, Teh, se SnFrB, SCoR, SW, DMoj.
California counties: Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, Kern, Mono, Fresno, Inyo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Barbara, San Benito, Santa Clara, Madera, Nevada
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.