. The American botanist : a monthly journal for the plant lover. Botany. 82 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. one the children know as the surprise Hly {Calochortiis macrocarpus). Bud of Surprise Lily. The flower is well named, for no matter how thoroughly convinced you may be that it is concealed in a par- ticular sweep of sagebrush, when you come across it you are startled anew by its gentle dignity and poise. Most of our sagebrush flowers bloom in the early spring; this one waits until late May or June when all other flowers haye been literally scorched away and the ground is baked hard. The sur- pris
. The American botanist : a monthly journal for the plant lover. Botany. 82 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. one the children know as the surprise Hly {Calochortiis macrocarpus). Bud of Surprise Lily. The flower is well named, for no matter how thoroughly convinced you may be that it is concealed in a par- ticular sweep of sagebrush, when you come across it you are startled anew by its gentle dignity and poise. Most of our sagebrush flowers bloom in the early spring; this one waits until late May or June when all other flowers haye been literally scorched away and the ground is baked hard. The sur- prise lily is then at its best, and one may gather great armfuls of the beautiful layender flower. The flower belongs to the same group as the mariposa lily, and the group has been particularly well named CalocJior- fns. The word comes from the Greek words kalos and clwrtos, meaning beautiful grass. The group was so called because the leaves are always reed-like and when it is in bloom it is indeed a beautiful grass-like plant. The species name, of course, comes from the fact that the seed carpels are unusually large, frequently being oyer three inches long. The flower was first collected by Douglas, the Scotch botanist, who was sent out b}^ the London Horticultural Society. In his first journc}^ in 1825 he explored much of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. He found the surprise lily, as he says, ''on the dry barren grounds around the Great Falls of the Columbia and on the summit of the low hills between them and the Grand ; It is coextensive with the sage- brush, which corresponds agriculturally with the reg'ion \\ here the growing of peaches and watermelons is Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Binghamton, N. Y. : Willard N. Clute & Co.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbotany, bookyear1901
