Derived from the Greek word kallos for “beautiful” and chortus, “grass,” referring to the grassy leaves
Species
nuttallii
Named for the Englishman Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a botanist, ornithologist, curator of the Harvard Botanic Gardens, and author in 1816 of Genera of North American Plants
Identification: Each lily has one to four flowers,
each with three white petals. The petals sometimes have a purplish tinge.
The stems are straight and bare. Flowers are about 1′ (30 cm) high.
Edibility: Sego lily bulbs, after removing their outer husks,
are tasty raw and further improved by slow cooking; bulbs may also be dried and ground.
Flowers and buds are also edible and can be added to salads. Their
edibility was discovered (or rediscovered) during a cricket-induced food shortage in Utah between
1840-51, and sego lilies were later adopted as Utah's state flower.