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Show MAY 1995| : —~ SPECIES OF THE MONTH \ Conquistadors Butterfly Called Called But The Shoshone by Pamela M. Poulson It Manager of Environmental ego ily homas Nuttall topped a grassy hill dotted with sagebrush. Although Lewis and Clark had passed this way just seven years previously, discovery awaited Nuttall around every bend. Species missed by time of year thrived all across the watershed of the great Missouri. The thrill of describing another species new to the science of the young United States was his for the looking. Even now ahead of him, bobbing lightly on' the breeze, hundreds of white flowers hovered above the grasses. On closer inspection, each flower revealed three large creamy petals, heart shaped and collected together with three slender, purplish sepals. The flowers were somewhat reminiscent of tulips—the current rage with gardeners of the states— but the petals were flared outwards, broadly bell shaped and facing Sego Lily, Calochortus nuttallii Other names: Mariposa Lily Flowers: One to 6 blossoms per stem. Three petals, each petal 1 to 1 1/2 half inch broadly oval and wedge shaped where attached to the stem. Creamy white with yellow and maroon markings. Petals sometimes pink or purple. Leaves: Blue-green and grasslike. Wither at flowering. Height: 6 to 18 inches. Growth Habit: Grows as a single stem from a deep-seated bulb, buried up to 18 inches deep. Blooming Period: Along the Wasatch Front: May and June. In the mountains: June and July. In southern Utah: March and April. Range and Distribution: Throughout Utah from 2,200 feet to 9,000 feet elevation From Idaho to North Dakota, south to California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Nebraska. Preferred Site: Dry, sunny, well drained rocky soil. A habitat wet in early spring, but drying with summer. Not more than a gradual slope Where to see one: Look on the foothills of the Wasatch among grasses and sagebrush. P.S.; It’s smaller than you think! Note: State flower of Utah. { upward. PLeINT §-41E Only Sale’ Friday, May (9, 6-8:00 p.m. * Instant ay available at both sales! Public Sale occur Saturday, May 20, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Hundreds of plants Garden located Call for o81-IRIS om ore Expert Advice / Checks open-faced blooming singly or in groups of up to 8 on each stem. Several bulbs may grow in a clump, making the resulting display appear to be a bigger plant rather than merely several clumped together. The petals are usually white, but can be pink or purple. Sego Lilies are found in welldrained soil in association with Sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata) and grasslands. They can range in ele- East of Fort Douglas VISA 7 MC 7 Amex This displayed at the base of each petal,a fuzzy yellow blotch. A maroon eyebrow arched directly above. Six stamens and a three lobed pistil identified this simply designed flower as a member of the Lily Family. What we call Sego Lily, the Shoshone name for the plant, scientists named Calochortus _nuttallii. The genus name, Calochortus is Greek, meaning beautiful pasture. The species nuttallii is in honor of Thomas Nuttall. The Spaniards christened the flower with another name descriptive of its beauty: Mariposa, the butterfly. Sego is a perennial from a deep seated bulb. From this bulb comes a single stem -6 to 18 inches tall. Leaves are bluish green, narrow and grass-like, coming up in early spring and withering at blooming. Flowers Red Butte Garden& Arboretum Members I accepted (381-4747) nformation PAGE vation from Along the 4 2,200 Wasatch to 9,000 feet. foothills, Sego Education, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum begins blooming about the second week in May. If the bulb has not received enough moisture, it will produce only one flower or sometimes none. In some years bloom will be more glorious as a result of a mild winter and an abundance of moisture. The genus Calochortus is a relatively large one, with 60 species in North America, the greatest concentration in California. In Utah there are 5 species of Calochortus. Three are white petalled species: 1) Jones Calochortus (Calochortus ambiguus) in Washington County; 2) Nelson’s Calochortus (C. bruneaunis) in western and northern Utah; and Gunnison’s Calochortus (C. gunnisoni) in eastern Utah. There is one pink petalled species: Bentstem Mariposa (GC. flexuosus ) in southern Utah, and one yellow petalled species: Golden Calochortus (C. aureus) on the Colo- rado Plateau. My personal favorite is a strikingly brilliant poppy-orange species found in Arizona, Kennedy Calochortus (C. kennedyi). any horticulturists have tried to M::.. Sego Lilies and failed. Plant scientists at Utah State University have had some success with tissue culturing. Seeds will germinate after 120 days of cold moist stratification, but subsequent growth of seedlings is difficult. Bulbs bloom at 3 years of age. Although Sego is rather easy to transplant, it is a difficult plant to cultivate, dying after two to three years in captivity, without blooming. Sego Lilies are not commercially available. Time to dispel three Sego Lily myths: 1) the pioneers survived on Sego bulbs, 2) Sego Lilies are rare, and 3) a person can get arrested for collecting Sego Lilies. It is difficult to document that pioneers “survived”, on Sego Lily bulbs. The bulb is very small: 1/2 inch in diameter and 1 inch long. It is buried up to 18 inches in the ground and is usually entangled with roots of one of the perennials or woody shrubs associates. As a food source, the energy expended in obtaining the bulb is likely greater than that provided by the bulb. Also, because many other edible Continued on page 18 |
