Calochortus venustus

Butterfly mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Butterfly mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, central and southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, Central Western California, Western Transverse Ranges, and San Gabriel Mountains in sandy, often granitic soil within grasslands, woodlands, and yellow-pine forests at elevations of 300 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces spectacular flowers ranging from white, yellow, purple, pink, to dark red, each 30 to 50 millimeters long with distinctive dark central blotches and pale secondary markings. Growing 10 to 60 centimeters tall with a branched stem and small bulblets, it emerges from a basal rosette of leaves that wither as the plant matures. Its basal leaves reach 10 to 20 centimeters long, with 0 to 2 smaller cauline leaves along the stem, creating an elegant, glaucous-tinged appearance. The fruit is an erect, linear capsule 5 to 6 centimeters long, containing flat, light tan to yellow seeds.

Habitat: Sandy (often granitic) soil in grassland, woodland, yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 300-2700 m

Bioregions: SNF, c&amps SNH, Teh, CW, WTR, SnGb.

California counties: Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Kern, Calaveras, San Luis Obispo, Tuolumne, Alameda, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Madera, San Bernardino, Fresno, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Mariposa, Lake, Stanislaus, Monterey, Amador, El Dorado, Butte, Merced, Orange, Plumas, Tehama, San Diego, San Joaquin, Napa, Mendocino, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Placer, Yuba, Riverside

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