Calochortus superbus

Yellow mariposa

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Yellow mariposa is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range foothills, Sierra Nevada, southern Sierra Nevada, central western, and southwestern California in open grasslands, woodlands, dry meadows, and yellow-pine forests at elevations below 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white to lavender flowers with distinctive bright yellow centers marked by dark central blotches, typically with 1 to 3 erect blooms. Growing 40 to 60 centimeters tall with a bulbous base and slender stems, it develops reduced leaves that become smaller toward the top of the plant. Its basal leaves reach 20 to 30 centimeters long and often wither during flowering, while the flower petals measure 20 to 40 millimeters and are generally lined with purple near the base. The fruit is an upright, linear capsule 5 to 6 centimeters long, producing flat, light yellow to tan seeds.

Habitat: Common. Open grassland, woodland, dry meadows, yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 1700 m

Bioregions: NW, CaRF, SNF, s SNH, CW, SW.

California counties: Tuolumne, San Diego, Mariposa, El Dorado, Butte, Tulare, Placer, Kern, Madera, Amador, Shasta, Tehama, Fresno, Santa Clara, Mendocino, Lake, Santa Barbara, Nevada, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Merced, Yuba, Colusa, Solano, Napa, Alameda, Mono, San Luis Obispo, San Bernardino, Glenn, Plumas, Sonoma

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