Utah State Flower
Sego Lily (common name) Calochortus nuttallii (scientific name) Overview Commonly called the mariposa lily, the sego lily became Utah’s state flower in 1911. The roots had long been a source of food to Native Americans, who made porridge out of them. Because Utah’s climate and growing conditions were not what European settlers were used to, early crops did not do well and settlers had to quickly learn to identify and dig the roots (which taste similar to potatoes) in order to get enough to eat. This role in sustaining the state’s early citizens was considered when the sego lily became the state flower. The cuplike flowers are white and have three petals, each with a purple and yellow V-shaped marking near the base. Sometimes the petals have a slight lavender-tinted blush as well. Stems and leaves are thin and grass-like, with a bluish tint. Plants flower early in the spring, usually in May or early June, and die back after flowering. Seeds germinate on the surface of the soil and then gradually descend as the bulbs form. Sego lilies spread through the horizontal growth of mature bulbs as well as growing from seed. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Duration: Perennial Plant: six to eight inches high, fine and grass-like Mature Height: 6–18" (15–45 cm). Flowering: May through June Flowers: 2–3 in (5–7.6 cm) wide, 3 fan-shaped petals, 3 sepals Flower Color: White Leaves: 2–4" (5–10 cm), grass-like Fruit/Seed Color: Brown HABITAT Location: Well-drained, open areas with grass and sage Range: The Great Basin, including western Dakotas, eastern Montana, Nebraska, western Colorado, extreme northwestern New Mexico, most of Utah, northwestern Arizona, parts of Nevada. TRIVIA The plant’s Latin genus name, Calochortus, comes from the Greek words for beautiful (kalos) and for grass (chortos).Sego is from a Native American word meaning "edible bulb," and mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly, which refers to the flower’s shape. The species name honors Thomas Nuttall, a British naturalist who collected a specimen of the plant in 1811.
	Click to enlarge an image Sego Lily Botanical Print of Sego Lily Close-up of Sego Lily CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivision: Spermatophyta Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Subclass: Liliidae Order: Liliales Family: Liliaceae Genus: Calochortus Species: C. nuttallii
	Author: World Trade Press