Calochortus minimus

Sierra mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in southern California Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Highlands in moist, open woodland and lake margins at elevations of 1,200 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this delicate lily produces white flowers (sometimes with blue or purple anthers) in small clusters of 1 to 5 erect blooms, with petals 10 to 14 millimeters long and bell-shaped. Growing with a diminutive stem less than 10 centimeters tall, the plant emerges from a basal leaf cluster up to 20 centimeters long. Its single basal leaf is persistent through flowering, with nearly no cauline leaves and two opposite lanceolate bracts. The fruit is a distinctive nodding, winged capsule 15 to 20 millimeters long, containing irregular yellow to light brown seeds with a distinctive net-like texture.

Habitat: Common. Moist, open woodland, lake margins

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1200-3000 m

Bioregions: s CaRH, SNH.

California counties: Mariposa, Tuolumne, Tulare, El Dorado, Amador, Madera, Fresno, Nevada, Placer, Calaveras, Shasta, Sierra, Butte, Plumas, Tehama

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