''Calochortus venustus'' is a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name butterfly mariposa lily. It is a perennial herb that grows in grasslands and open wooded areas.

Distribution and habitat

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

ranging from

Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, particularly common in the San Gabriel Mountains, the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, and the

Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although th ...

between Oakland and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. It thrives in the light, sandy soils of a number of habitats, both grasslands and open wooded areas, at in altitude.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref>

Description

''Calochortus venustus'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb producing a branching stem 10 to 60 centimetres tall. There is a basal leaf up to 20 centimetres long which withers by the time the plant blooms. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a loose cluster of 1 to 6 erect, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are variable in size and palette; they are often showy and intricately patterned. The petals may be a variety of colours from white to pale pink or purple to bright red or orange, sporting a large dark central blotch and a smaller, paler blotch above. They generally have three curving

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s 2 or 3 centimetres long and three oval-shaped, clawed petals up to 5 centimetres long.Flora of North America, ''Calochortus venustus''
/ref> The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is an angled capsule 5 or 6 centimetres long. Calochortus venustus - Flickr 012

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Calochortus venustus'' (Butterfly mariposa lily)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Calochortus venustus''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile of ''Calochortus venustus''UC Calphotos gallery: ''Calochortus venustus'' images
venustus Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1835 Taxa named by George Bentham Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Liliales-stub