Calochortus leichtlinii

Leichtlin's mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Leichtlin's mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, northern Cascade Ranges, Modoc Plateau, and eastern Sierra Nevada in open, gravelly places within chaparral and montane conifer forest at elevations of 1,300 to 4,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces white to smoky-blue flowers with distinctive red or black spots above the nectary, often tinged with pink and measuring 10 to 40 millimeters across. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with a single bulblet nestled at the base of its stem, it develops an approximately umbel-like flower arrangement with one to five erect blossoms. Its basal leaves measure 10 to 15 centimeters long and gradually wither, while cauline leaves are reduced and shorter, ranging from 2 to 9 centimeters. The fruit develops as an erect, narrowly lanceolate structure 3 to 6 centimeters long with an acute tip, containing flat, dark brown seeds.

Habitat: Common. Open, gravelly places in chaparral or montane conifer forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1300-4000 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, MP, SNE

California counties: Fresno, El Dorado, Nevada, Shasta, Lassen, Plumas, Amador, Mariposa, Tulare, Mono, Placer, Tuolumne, Butte, Modoc, Alpine, Madera, Sierra, Kern, Inyo, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity

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