Calochortus venustus
California-endemic, bulb-forming lily with highly variable, butterfly-like blossoms in white, pink, red, yellow, or purple featuring a dark central blotch, growing in grasslands and open woodlands at 300–2,700 m, requiring bright direct sunlight, well-drained soil, and a dry summer dormancy, and blooming from May to July.
Common Names
Butterfly Mariposa Lily, Butterfly Mariposa, Mariposa Venusta, Mariposa Lily, White Mariposa Lily
Summary
Butterfly Mariposa Lily is a California endemic bulbous perennial in the Liliaceae. It forms a branching stem 10 to 60 cm tall from a bulb, with basal leaves that wither by bloom. The inflorescence carries 1 to 6 erect bell shaped flowers; three sepals 2 to 3 cm long and three oval, clawed petals up to 5 cm, usually white to pale pink or purple to red or orange, with a large dark central blotch and a smaller paler blotch above. Flowers appear in spring to mid-summer in light sandy soils, often decomposed granite, in grasslands, foothill woodland, and pine forest at elevations of 300 to 2700 m; insect pollinated and highly showy, with patterns varying widely across populations.
Cultivation favors bright, direct sun and deep, very well drained sandy or loamy soil; water is kept to a minimum, with summer dormancy and complete dryness in summer to prevent bulb rot; plant bulbs in fall and allow natural summer dryness; propagation is by seed, which is slow, with germination 1 to 6 months at 15°C and 5 to 7 years to flowering in seedlings; bulbs can be stored cool and dry and replanted; massed plantings, spring gardens, rock gardens, and wildflower meadows are suitable landscape uses; bulbs have ethnobotanical value with edible uses reported by indigenous groups.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
4-24 inches
Spread
6-12 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 3-10b
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun to partial shade.
Soil Type
Well-drained sandy soil
Soil Drainage
Well-drained soil
Soil pH
5.0–8.0, mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soils (neutral included)
Bloom Color
White (most common); also white to pale pink, purple, red, orange, or yellow.
Bloom Time
Spring
Foliage Color
Glaucous, green
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Fast
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Division (bulbs), Stem bulbils (bulblets)
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators (insects)
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Douglas ex Benth.
- Publication
- Trans. Hort. Soc. London , ser. 2, 1: 412 (1834 publ. 1835)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Liliales
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Genus
- Calochortus
Synonyms
Calochortus venustus var. caroli Mariposa venusta Calochortus venustus var. eldorado Calochortus venustus var. purpurascens Calochortus venustus var. purpureus Calochortus venustus var. roseus Calochortus venustus var. sulphureus Calochortus venustus var. pictus Calochortus venustus var. superbus Calochortus venustus unr. pictus Calochortus venustus var. sanguineus Calochortus venustus var. oculatus