Calochortus nuttallii (Sego Lily)

Calochortus nuttallii

Calochortus nuttallii Torr. & A. Gray

Sego Lily

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Liliales	Includes lilies, tulips, trilliums, greenbriars, and others
Family	Liliaceae	Lilly family
Genus	Calochortus	Derived from the Greek word kallos for “beautiful” and chortus, “grass,” referring to the grassy leaves
Species	nuttallii	Named for the Englishman Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a botanist, ornithologist, curator of the Harvard Botanic Gardens, and author in 1816 of Genera of North American Plants

About plant names...

The sego lily is Utah’s state flower.

Identification: Each lily has one to four flowers, each with three white petals. The petals sometimes have a purplish tinge. The stems are straight and bare. Flowers are about 12" (30 cm) high.

Edibility: Sego lily bulbs, after removing their outer husks, are tasty raw and further improved by slow cooking; bulbs may also be dried and ground. Flowers and buds are also edible and can be added to salads. Their edibility was discovered (or rediscovered) during a cricket-induced food shortage in Utah between 1840-51, and sego lilies were later adopted as Utah’s state flower.

Online References:

Calochortus nuttallii on Wildflowers, Ferns & Trees of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

Calochortus nuttallii on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Calochortus nuttallii on Wikipedia

Calochortus nuttallii at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Calochortus nuttallii on CalPhotos

Calochortus nuttallii at Utah State University

Calochortus nuttallii on eFloras

Calochortus nuttallii description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Aug 2013.