mariposa lily

[mar-uh-poh-suh, -zuh]

noun

1. any lily of the genus Calochortus, of the western U.S. and Mexico, having tuliplike flowers of various colors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mariposa lily¹

1880–85, < Spanish mariposa butterfly, moth; so named because blooms were likened to butterflies

Example Sentences

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.

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

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Waist-high violet lupines, delicate mariposa lilies and knee-high shooting stars left us no room to walk.

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Calochortus.—Beautiful bulbous plants, called mariposa lilies, requiring warm sheltered spots in rich gritty and well-drained soil.

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Conspicuous and characteristic flowers of the lower altitudes are the mariposa lily, iris, wallflower, gaillardia, and numerous species of cinquefoil, pentstemon, and evening primrose.

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