Calochortus kennedyi

Desert mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Desert mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in desert and low mountain regions at elevations of 10 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces stunning yellow to orange-red flowers with distinctive dark spots near the base, each 3 to 5 centimeters long and bell-shaped. Growing with glaucous stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, often simple and occasionally twisted, it emerges from a basal bulb. Its basal leaves are 10 to 20 centimeters long, glaucous and channeled, typically withering by flowering time. The fruit is an erect, lanceolate capsule 4 to 6 centimeters long, with angled and striped surfaces.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Alameda

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.