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State Flowers

State Flower of Utah

Flower: Sego Lily (Calochortus Gunnisonii)

The sego lily was adopted as the state flower on March 18, 1911. Even earlier, it was depicted on Utah’s state flag, designed by Daughters of the American Revolution in 1903.

To early Spanish explorers, the bright white flowers swaying in the wind resembled butterflies. They called the plant mariposa. Earlier still, Native Americans ate the plant’s starchy walnut-sized bulbs. Sego lilies saved many early Mormon pioneers from starvation. The most critical period was 1840-1851 when Utah was visited with a plague of crickets, which devoured crops, forcing food rationing.