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Calochortus nuttallii

Common name:	Sego Lily	Family:	Calochortaceae
Author:	Torr.& A.Gray.	Botanical references:	60
Synonyms:	Calochortus luteus (Torr.& A.Gray. non Dougl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California to New Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry soils with grass and scrub, 1500 - 2800 metres[90].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. nuttalii[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sego Lily [H,P], Sego-lily [B], Yellow Mariposa Lily [P], Yellow Mariposa-lily [B],

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.15m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

By Walls, By South Wall, By East Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Root Seed.

Bulb - raw or cooked[207]. Remove the outer husk. Excellent raw, the flavour is greatly improved by slow cooking[183]. The bulbs are said to have a crisp nut-like texture and a pleasant flavour when cooked. The bulbs can also be dried and ground into a powder[207] which can be used with cereal flours when making bread[212].
Leaves - cooked as a potherb[183]. It is hard to obtain a sufficient quantity and this use of the leaves will weaken the plants so is not to be recommended[K].
Seed - ground into a powder[183].
Flowers and flower buds - raw. A tasty addition to the salad bowl[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a deep very well-drained fertile sandy soil in a warm sunny position and must be kept dry from mid summer to late autumn[1, 90, 200].
This is a rather difficult plant to cultivate in Britain, it is very cold hardy but is intolerant of wetness especially in the winter[42, 90]. It is easiest to grow in a bulb frame[90] but is worth trying outdoors at the base of a south-facing wall, especially with shrubs that like these conditions[120]. Bulbs can be lifted as soon as the foliage dies down in the summer and stored overwinter in a cool dry place, replanting in spring[138]. Another report says that the bulbs should be replanted immediately[1].
Bulbs frequently divide after flowering, the bulblets taking 2 years to reach flowering size[200].
Hand pollination is necessary if seed is required[1].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is the state flower of Utah[85, 95].

Propagation

Seed - sow as soon as ripe or early spring in a cold frame in a very sharply draining medium. Stratification may be helpful. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 6 months at 15° c[138]. Leave the seedlings undisturbed for their first two years growth[138], but give them an occasional liquid feed to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. It is quite difficult to get the seedlings through their first period of dormancy since it is all too easy either to dry them out completely or keep them too moist when they will rot[214]. After their second year of growth, pot up the dormant bulbs in late summer and grow them on for at least another 2 years in the greenhouse before trying them outside. Seedlings take about 5 - 7 years to come into flower[214].
Division of the bulbs as soon as the foliage dies down. One report says that the bulbs must be planted into their permanent positions immediately[1], whilst another says that they can be stored overwinter and replanted in the spring[138].
Stem bulbils, harvested from the stems after flowering[200]. They can be stored cool and dry then planted in pots in the cold frame in the spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Calochortus luteus (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Calochortus nuttalii (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for calochortus nuttallii (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[120] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 2. 1980 - 1981. Royal Horticultural Society 1980
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants including Billardiera spp, Calochortus spp, Drimys spp.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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