Katharine Hepburn immortalized the calla lily in 1937 in STAGE DOOR: "The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower--suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I place them here in memory of something that has died." Development of the Calla Lily in the United States was spearheaded in Northern California by Luther Burbank during the 1930s and 1940s. The U.S. grows nearly half the world supply, and the Netherlands, Central America, Chile, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka combine to produce the other half. In Europe more than 90% are grown as flowering potted plants; in the United States, 80% are sold as cut flowers. When Tosca, Puccini's diva makes her entrance, by tradition she is carrying a bunch of calla lilies. In the 1930s and 1940s, callas were so plentiful (both commercially and "wild") that they had no value locally and thus began the great shipments to the East Coast. In 1939, according to the University of California College of Agriculture, there were more than 3,500,000 bulbs grown in Santa Cruz County alone. LONG LIVE THE ZANTEDESCHIA !!!