Skip to main content
Calochortus kennedyi

Calochortus kennedyi

9.9
A small wild lily with clusters of bell-shaped orange, red, or yellow flowers on short stems
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Calochortus kennedyi
  • Gardeners prize Calochortus kennedyi for its striking orange and red blossoms.

Examples

  • We spotted clusters of Calochortus kennedyi while hiking in southern Arizona.

  • The desert was ablaze with blooming Calochortus kennedyi after the spring rains.

  • The Calochortus kennedyi blooms beautifully in the spring.

  • Look at that stunning Calochortus kennedyi flowering by the trail!

  • Gardeners prize Calochortus kennedyi for its striking orange and red blossoms.

  • The desert was ablaze with blooming Calochortus kennedyi after the spring rains.

  • We spotted clusters of Calochortus kennedyi while hiking in southern Arizona.

Synonyms

desert mariposa tulip
vsCalochortus kennedyi
  • US
9.9

A wild flower with bell-shaped orange, red or yellow blooms on short stems in dry places

is the scientific name for that same species

Surface Forms

Morphology

Calochortus + kennedyi

This is a Latin binomial composed of a genus name plus a specific epithet: knowing 'Calochortus' lets a learner infer it denotes a species of that genus (a bulbous, tulip-like plant), but 'kennedyi' is a proper-name epithet with no lexical meaning to indicate the species' appearance or range. Therefore the phrase partly signals 'a kind of Calochortus' but does not transparently convey the full descriptive meaning, making it only partially predictable.

Etymology

Calochortus kennedyi comes from old Greek words: Calochortus means 'beautiful grass' and kennedyi is the name of a person (Kennedy) who first collected or studied the plant. So the name gives the image of a pretty, grass-like lily and remembers the person, which is why we use it today for that species.