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| ## yellow mariposa lily {#yellow-mariposa-lily .Title-Header}         |
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| *Calochortus luteus* Dougl. ex Lindl.                                 |
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| Plant Symbol = CALU9                                                  |
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# *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

**Alternate Names**![](media/image2.png){width="2.2909722222222224in"
height="2.1125in"}

Mariposa, sego lily, yellow calochortus

## Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The bulbs were gathered for food with a digging stick by
the southern Paiute and the Sierra Miwok. The Miwok dug the bulbs when
buds appeared on the plants in April or later in flowering. The bulbs
were roasted for about 20 minutes in ashes of a fire that had died down.
When retrieved they were soft, like boiled potatoes. The bulbs also were
baked in an earth oven.

## Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious
status, and wetland indicator values.

## Description

*General*: Lily Family (Liliaceae). Populations of this species are
found in heavy soils in grassland, woodland, and mixed-evergreen forest
below 700 m. The leaves are basal, 10-20 cm long, and linear. The showy
flowers have 1-7 per stem. The yellow petals are bell-shaped and often
have a central red-brown

blotch inside, sparsely slender-hairy near the base and the
crescent-shaped nectary is not depressed. The fruit is an angled
capsule, 3-6 cm long.

## Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. The plant is found in the Sierra Nevada
foothills, Sacramento Valley, central-western California, northwestern
California, northern Channel Islands.

## Establishment

Collect or buy seed from local sources. Place the seeds in a paper bag
until you are ready to plant them. Plant them in a 5 inch or deeper pot
in a soil that has excellent drainage. Scatter the seeds at least
one-quarter inch apart. Sprinkle a light layer of soil on top and then
place quarter-inch gravel on top of the soil. The seed should be planted
in the fall and requires no stratification. Let the pots sit outside
during the winter in partial shade. Water the pots, keeping them
slightly damp. Germination is generally about February. Fertilize the
plants in a weak solution about once a month during active growth until
April. When the tips of the leaves turn yellow, stop watering and
fertilizing (about the end of April). The bulbs are dormant by flowering
time. In the fall start watering again. Give the plants more room in the
fall of the second or third year by transplanting them and spacing them
1-2 inches apart. Plant the plants outside in the ground in the third or
fourth year. Plant them in full sun in summer or fall. Start watering
them in September. After they have bloomed for the first time, they
should be established.

## Management

Weed around the plants regularly and protect them from insects, birds,
mammals, and other animals.

## Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

CALU9 is somewhat available through native plant nurseries within its
range. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service
(formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look
in the phone book under "United States Government." The Natural
Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading
"Department of Agriculture."

## References

Barrett, S.A. & E.W. Gifford. 1933. *Miwok material culture*. Bulletin
of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 2(4):117-376.

Fiedler, P. & B. Ness 1993. *Calochortus*. pp. 1183-1189 IN: The Jepson
Manual: Higher Plants of California. J.C. Hickman (ed.). University of
California Press, Berkeley, California.

USDA, NRCS 1999. *The PLANTS database*. National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. \<http://plants.usda.gov\>. Version: 990405.

## Prepared By & Species Coordinators

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department,
University of California, Davis, California

*Wayne Roderick*

Former Director of the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Berkeley,
California

Edited: 18sep00 jsp; 29apr03 ahv; 31may06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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