mariposa

/ ˌmærɪˈpəʊzə, -sə /

noun

1. Also called: mariposa lily.  mariposa tulip. any of several liliaceous plants of the genus Calochortus, of the southwestern US and Mexico, having brightly coloured tulip-like flowers

Word History and Origins

Origin of mariposa¹

C19: from Spanish: butterfly; from the likeness of the blooms to butterflies

Example Sentences

We hiked through the sparse woods, making our way carefully down the beaten path we had created that summer, the summer of the mariposas.

From Literature

There are native and nonnative plants all around the Bowl, but this area in particular is home to Plummer’s mariposa lily, a rare plant.

From Los Angeles Times

“Do any of you know what mariposa means?”

From Washington Post

And the alkali mariposa lily and ash meadows blazing star are among the plants that grow only along this river.

From New York Times

Two endangered lilies — Green’s mariposa and Gentner’s fritillary — bloom purple and red each spring.

From New York Times