Calochortus nuttallii

Calochortus nuttallii

The Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii) is the Utah state flower and a very well known edible plant, because of the stories about the early Mormon settlers in Utah surviving on Sego Lily roots during the first year after they arrived in the valley. All these stories say the Native American Indians in the region told them about the Sego Lily roots, and all the stories also say the Indians told the settlers to eat thistle roots as well. Somehow the poor thistle has not gotten nearly as much publicity. 

It may seem strange that I have not written about such a well-known plant before now, but Sego Lily is really a desert plant, and I spend most of my time in the mountains. Sego Lilies are very abundant during the spring in the desert valleys in this region. They are much less abundant in the mountains, but one can still find them in hot, dry areas, usually on south-facing slopes. Note that in spite of being the state flower, they are abundant, and not legally protected in any way.

I have to admit that digging the bulbs is much easier in the sandy soils of the desert, than in the rocky ground of the mountains. But fortunately, the bulbs are not the only edible part of the plant. I enjoy eating the flower buds and the seed pods, and both of these can be easily picked without killing the entire plant. The bulbs are good, but usually just too much work.

Death Camus (top) vs Sego Lily (bottom)
orange coloration on sego bulb root end

If you do go to the effort of digging the bulbs, find some Sego Lilies growing in nice sandy ground, and bring a good spade. The bulbs can be 6 inches deep, so it takes some effort to get down to them. It's probably not worth the effort if the ground is rocky. You should carefully follow the stem down from the flower, so you can be sure of getting the right bulb. The bulbs average about 3/4 inches in diameter. They have a dry brown layer over the good white part of the bulb, which rubs off fairly easily. They have some noticeably orange coloration on the root (bottom) end. Like most bulbs in the lily family, they have layers like an onion. Sego Lily bulbs have only a few layers (around 5 or so), and they are of a consistent thickness. Another bulb plant which is very common in the same environments is Death Camus (Zigadenus species). Death Camus is very poisonous, so you should be careful not to accidentally include any of those in your foraging. The bulbs from Death Camus are about twice the size of Sego Lily bulbs, and they have many more layers, with the outer ones being especially thin. See the photo for comparison. 

The Sego Lily bulbs, when raw, are a bit crisp, and have a bland, starchy flavor. When boiled 10 minutes, the taste is similar to when they are raw; they are softer, but still have a bit of crunchiness, and the starchy flavor is stronger. I also tried roasting the bulbs for 15 minutes. This way, they were a little dryer and slightly tough, but the roasted ones were especially good with some butter and salt. Overall, it seems the flavor is similar any way you cook them.

bulbs, cleaned bulbs,
seed pods, flower buds.

So much for the hard parts. The easy parts are the flower buds and seed pods. The flower buds are tender and have a good mild flavor. The flowers taste similar, but are so pretty that I would rather look at them than eat them at that stage. The seed pods are three-sided (most things in the lily family come in threes) and taste rather like garden pea pods, crunchy and sweet, although not as sweet as garden peas. There is some hot spicy flavor noticeable after eating a few of them. When boiled for ten minutes, they become tender and mild, and the spiciness goes away, so this is a good option if you collect a lot, instead of eating them as a trail-side nibble.

Finally, here is a photo I thought was humorous. The Sego Lilies in this picture are being grabbed onto by American Vetch (Vicia americana), preventing them from fully opening.