The photo above and at right shows harvest lily as seen from Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge..........July, 2006. Note the curved, white
staminodia at the center of the flower.
Characteristics:
Harvest lily is a beautiful, small lily found in arid areas.
It has a single stout stem (a scape) arising from a deep seated, scaly corm
to a height of 25 cm. It has one to three, narrow ( 2 to 4 mm wide) leaves
which typically wither by bloom time.
The flowers are a deep violet-purple color, with the tepals
being 2 to 3.5 cm long. The tepals are united at the base to form a short
tube, but these soon become separated and tend to flare outwards. The outer
3 tepals are linear-lanceolate in shape and are narrower than the broader,
inner 3 tepals which are oblong-lanceolate in shape. There are 3 fertile
stamens which are much shorter than the tepals. The stamens alternate with
3 broadly lanceolate obtuse staminodia (The staminodia whitish structures
in the center of the flower ant he photo above.) which incline towards the
center of the flower. The margins of the staminodia are inrolled and are
7-10 mm long.
This is one of my favorite native Brodiaeas.
It is especially spectacular when seen in dense drifts. I have several in
the rock garden where they have bloomed for several years. They look best
clustered at the front of the rock garden.
Habitat:
Harvest lily is found on grassy slopes, gravelly
prairies, and rocky bluffs overlooking the sea.
Range:
Harvest lily is found from southern Vancouver
Island south through the islands of Puget Sound to scattered spots on the
Olympic Peninsula. It is found throughout the lowland area between the Cascades
and Puget Sound and ranges west of the Cascades through the Willamette Valley
to southern California. Eastward, it is found in the Columbia River Gorge
and southern Yakima County in Washington.
Paul Slichter