# Hotel California

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 26, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388 "2005-03-26T20:08:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ssam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@ssam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssam)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388/1 "2005-03-26T20:08:56Z")

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I read the thread giving a lot of info about ‘colitas’ and ‘colitis’.  
as included in Hotel California by Don Henley.

Let me suggest that it is actually

pilitas … a flower widely found in Calif.

So it goes “Warm smell of pilitas (puh-lee-taas)”

Please check…

Thanks

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**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388/2 "2005-03-26T20:14:48Z")

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As with many things here on SDMB, asked and [answered.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_001)

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**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388/3 "2005-03-26T20:19:03Z")

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:smack:

Ummmm… just ignore my rantings…

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/296388/4 "2005-03-27T19:49:02Z")

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That was the question that brought me to the boards!

I Googled “colitas” and the first link was to Cecil’s column on the very subject. After I read the archives, I discovered the SDMB, and here I still am.