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Calochortus venustus

Common name:	Butterfly Mariposa Lily	Family:	Calochortaceae
Author:	Benth.	Botanical references:	71, 200
Synonyms:	Calochortus purpurascens
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat:	Light sandy soil, often decomposed granite, below 2400 metres[71, 90]. In grassland and in mixed evergreen forests[90, 200].
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. venustus var. carolii[B,P] C. venustus var. purpurascens[B,P] C. venustus var. sanguineus[B,P] C. venustus var. sulphureus[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Butterfly Mariposa Lily [P], Butterfly Mariposa-lily [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	venustus = charming;

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.6m by 0.1m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from June to July. 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

Root.

Bulb - cooked[94, 105, 257]. A sweet flavour[161].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a deep very well-drained fertile sandy soil in a sunny position and must be kept rather dry from when the bulb flowers until late winter[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[1, 90]. It is easiest to grow in a bulb frame but is worth trying outdoors at the base of a south-facing wall, especially with shrubs that like these conditions[120]. It should not be crowded by other plants[214].
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 they 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].

Propagation

Seed - sow as soon as ripe or early spring in a cold frame in a very sharply draining medium. Stratification may be helpful for spring-sown seed, though this species usually germinates within two months without any treatment[120]. 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. 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.
[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

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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]).

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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