Calochortus palmeri

Palmer's mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Palmer's mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in rocky or open habitats at elevations of 300 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white to lavender flowers 20 to 30 millimeters long with distinctive yellow hairs near the nectary and occasional brown spots on the petals. Growing with straight, glaucous stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall that are generally branched and produce small bulblets, it develops distinctive erect flowering stalks. Its basal leaves are narrowly linear and 10 to 20 centimeters long, withering during flowering, while its 1 to 3 cauline leaves are progressively reduced upward. The fruit is an erect, linear capsule 2 to 5 centimeters long with distinct angular sides.

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, San Diego

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