Utah

The Story Behind the Sego Lily

Imagine arriving somewhere new with almost nothing.

In 1847, Latter-day Saint pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley and began planting crops for the coming year. For a while, things seemed hopeful. The land was planted and the future looked promising.

Then the crickets came.

Thousands of them descended on the fields and devoured the crops. By the spring of 1848, food was nearly gone. Game was scarce. Some pioneers were so desperate they were boiling shoe leather just to have something to eat.

It was during this time that local Native Americans showed the settlers how to dig up the roots of a small white flower growing in the high desert — the sego lily. Properly prepared, the bulb could be eaten and helped sustain many families during a very difficult season.

For the pioneers, that little flower became a symbol of survival.

This short video tells the story of how the sego lily became the state flower of Utah and why it has been remembered for generations.

Sego Lily

Calohortus nuttallii

The sego lily grows in the dry foothills and high desert landscapes of Utah and surrounding states. Its delicate white petals and soft purple markings make it easy to recognize once you know what to look for.

A few things that make it special:

Native to the Intermountain West
Blooms in late spring and early summer
Found in desert valleys and foothills
Known for its delicate white petals and purple markings

Spanish explorers once described the blossoms as mariposa, meaning butterflies, because of the way the petals appear to flutter in the breeze.

If you’re ever exploring Utah’s open landscapes and come across a sego lily, take a moment to appreciate it — but leave it where it grows. The plants are becoming more rare in the wild.

Why It Became the State Flower

Long before Utah officially adopted the sego lily as its state flower, the plant already held deep meaning for the people who lived there.

In 1893, when organizers of the Chicago World’s Fair asked Utah Territory to select a flower to represent the region, the choice was easy. The women of the territory overwhelmingly selected the sego lily.

They remembered the role it had played during the difficult early years of settlement and wanted the flower to represent Utah.

Three years later, Utah became a state in 1896. And in 1911, the sego lily was officially named the state flower, though many people had already treated it as such for years.

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