Calochortus vestae

Coast range mariposa lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Coast range mariposa lily is a California native perennial found in southern Klamath Ranges and northern Coast Ranges in mixed-evergreen and yellow-pine forests with clay soil at elevations of 500 to 900 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white to purple flowers with red-brown central blotches, bell-shaped and 30 to 40 millimeters long, featuring distinctive red lines near the nectary. Growing with slender stems 30 to 50 centimeters tall and generally branched, it develops small bulblets and has both basal and cauline leaves. Its basal leaves measure 10 to 20 centimeters long and typically wither during flowering, while cauline leaves range from 1 to 3 in number and extend 7 to 20 centimeters. The plant produces erect, linear fruits with distinct angular characteristics.

Habitat: Clay soil in mixed-evergreen or yellow-pine forests

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 500-900 m

Bioregions: s KR, NCoR.

California counties: Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt, Shasta, Sonoma, Napa, Butte, Fresno, Tehama, Tuolumne, Trinity, Colusa, Calaveras

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