DescriptionDesert mariposa, Calochortus kennedyi var. kennedyi (32531940278).jpg
desert mariposa, Calochortus kennedyi var. kennedyi, California, White Mountains, Deep Springs Valley drainage, elevation 1792 m (5880 ft).
My favorite color is green, but the orange of this species is a close second! Another species that my camera never lets me ignore.
This spectacular Lily Family member hides deep underground as a bulb during average to dry years in the desert, but can emerge in profusion after an exceptionally wet winter and spring. This species is limited essentially to the Mojave Desert of southeast California and southwest Nevada, eastward into the northern and eastern Sonoran Desert of Arizona and adjacent Sonora, Mexico, at elevations of 600-2200 meters (2000-7200 feet). Here at the northwestern limit of its range, along the southeast foothills of the White Mountains, it seems to prefer desert pavement and other dark rocky soils on south facing aspects, which probably help to maintain the soil temperatures needed for it to survive the winters at this latitude.
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