Butterfly mariposa lily facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Butterfly mariposa lily |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Calochortus
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| Species: |
venustus
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| Synonyms | |
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Synonymy
Mariposa venusta (Douglas ex Benth.) Hoover
Calochortus venustus var. roseus Reuthe Calochortus venustus var. purpureus Baker Calochortus venustus var. purpurascens S.Watson Calochortus venustus var. oculatus Tubergen Calochortus venustus pictus Wallace Calochortus venustus var. pictus (Wallace) Purdy & L.H.Bailey Calochortus venustus var. sanguineus Purdy & L.H.Bailey Calochortus venustus var. eldorado Purdy Calochortus venustus var. sulphureus Purdy Calochortus venustus var. caroli Cockerell Calochortus venustus var. superbus L.H.Bailey & E.Z.Bailey |
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Calochortus venustus is a beautiful wild flower found in California. It's part of the lily family and is often called the butterfly mariposa lily. This name comes from its lovely, often colorful petals that can look like butterfly wings.
Contents
Where Does the Butterfly Mariposa Lily Grow?
This special flower grows only in California. It is found from Shasta County in the north all the way to San Diego County in the south. This means it is endemic to California, which means it naturally lives only in that area.
You can often spot it in places like the San Gabriel Mountains and the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. It also grows in the California Coast Ranges between Oakland and Los Angeles.
The butterfly mariposa lily likes sandy soil. It grows in many different places, including grassy fields and open wooded areas. You can find it at elevations from about 300 to 2,700 meters (about 980 to 8,860 feet) high.
What Does the Butterfly Mariposa Lily Look Like?
Calochortus venustus is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It is also a herb, so it has soft stems instead of woody ones.
Its stem can grow from 10 to 60 centimeters (about 4 to 24 inches) tall and branches out. At the bottom of the plant, there's a long leaf, up to 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) long. This leaf usually dries up and withers away by the time the flower blooms.
The Beautiful Flowers
The plant produces a loose group of 1 to 6 upright, bell-shaped flowers. These flowers are quite amazing! They can be different sizes and come in many colors. They are often very showy and have detailed patterns.
The petals can be white, light pink, purple, bright red, or even orange. Each petal usually has a large, dark spot in the middle and a smaller, lighter spot above it. The flowers have three curving sepals, which are like small leaves that protect the bud, about 2 to 3 centimeters long. They also have three oval-shaped petals, which are the colorful parts, up to 5 centimeters long.
Fruit of the Plant
After the flower blooms, it produces a fruit. This fruit is a type of capsule, which is a dry fruit that opens to release seeds. The capsule is angled and can be about 5 or 6 centimeters (about 2 to 2.4 inches) long.
