Utah Native Plant Society

The Sego Lily, the newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society, is published quarterly and contains articles of interest as well as announcements and news of current society activities. The Sego Lily was a members only publication until September of 2007 at which time newsletters were made available here for viewing by the general public. As a member however you receive automatic notifications of the latest newsletter, along with other membership benefits. Support our mission by joining or renewing.

On December 23, 2008 and in celebration of our 30th year, the full set of all UNPS newsletters ever published was made available on the access page.

Sego Lily publishing schedule: formerly the newsletter was published on a bi-monthly basis, but starting with the May 2014 issue is now quarterly. If you would like to submit an article or an upcoming news event for possible publication in the Sego Lily or have a suggestion for a possible newsletter topic relating to Utah native plants, please e-mail us at newsletter@unps.org

Here are deadlines for paper submissions (preferably sooner):

• February - article deadline Jan 15
• May - articles deadline April 15
• August - articles deadline July 15
• November - articles deadline Oct. 15

Access the latest and prior issues at Sego Lily Archive

Kaye Thorne pencil drawings for Sego Lily logo (click to show)

These pencil sketches by Kaye Thorne (botanist, botanical illustrator and early UNPS board member) found in our archives are believed to be from early 1982 (best guess; possibly from late 1981). Barbara Halliday was at that time the newsletter editor. The artistic sketch referenced as "1" was selected. The newsletter was called the Sego Lily starting with the January 1982 issue; the new masthead with Thorne's drawing first appeared in the June/July 1982 issue.

Learn more about Utah's state flower

Calochortiana

A research journal published by the Utah Native Plant Society

Here is an excerpt from the inaugural edition published in December 2012 that describes the purpose of this journal:

"Hundreds of scientific journals already exist for the dissemination of research on botany and ecology (including several fine publications based in Utah and the west). Nonetheless, space and financial constraints prevent many useful papers from being published in first and second-tier journals, relegating such work to the gray literature. In June 2012, the board of the Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) recognized the need for a peer-reviewed, electronic journal for unpublished gray-literature reports that pertain to Utah botany and vegetation. The board voted to establish an annual, technical journal that would complement its bimonthly member?s magazine, the Sego Lily. The objective of the new publication, named Calochortiana (named for genus Calochortus or Sego Lily, the state floral emblem of Utah), is to provide a forum for professional and amateur scientists to share their findings on Utah botany and ecology with their colleagues. Calochortiana will focus primarily on monitoring or status surveys of rare species, seed propagation protocols, floristic checklists, genetic studies, vegetation mapping, natural history research, or other topics that might not otherwise be accepted in existing journals. All submissions will be peer-reviewed and the journal made available for free on the UNPS website. The journal is put together by an all-volunteer editorial board, though supported by UNPS. Readers, of course, are encouraged to show their appreciation by becoming members of UNPS!"