Calochortus nuttallii Torr. & A. Gray
Sego lily
The sego lily is Utah’s state flower.
Plants: The stems are straight, usually unbranched, and bare, and 10–20″ (25–50 cm) high. These grow from bulbs ¼–1″ (8.3–25 mm) around.
Leaves: There are two to four linear, narrow leaves with smooth edges, 7–10″ (17–25 cm) long.
Flowers: Each lily has one to four flowers, each with three white petals. The petals sometimes have a purplish tinge, and a variant has yellow petals. Flowers are attractive, 3″ (7.6 cm) in size, with three petals and three sepals. Glands at the base of petals have a brownish purple spot above.
Fruits: An erect capsule with three sections, splitting when dry to reveal yellowish flat seeds.
Habitats: Dry, brushy or grassy slopes and desert high country.
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:
5/21/2009 · Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona · ≈ 2½ × 2½″ (6.3 × 7.3 cm) 
6/3/2009 · Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 2 × 2½″ (5.6 × 7.2 cm) 
6/3/2009 · Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 2½ × 3″ (7.1 × 8.5 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 |
Calochortus nuttallii description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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