Dictionary entry

Mariposa lily

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ma′ri‐po″sa lil′y (?). [Sp. mariposa a butterfly + E. lily. So called from the gay appearance of the blossoms.] (Bot.) One of a genus (Calochortus) of tuliplike bulbous herbs with large, and often gaycolored, blossoms. Called also butterfly lily. Most of them are natives of California.