Lilium humboldtii

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Lilium humboldtii
Lilium humboldtii subsp. ocellatum
Lilium humboldtii subsp. ocellatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Lilium
Species: L. humboldtii
Binomial name
Lilium humboldtii
Roezl & Leichtlin, 1871

Lilium humboldtii is a type of lily native to California. It is also known as Humboldt's lily, and was named after Alexander von Humboldt, a naturalist and explorer who first described the lily to western botanists. It occurs in South High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, south Outer South Coast Ranges, and Southwestern California.

It is less than 3 m tall. The flower is maroon-spotted, golden-orange with dark red splotches, with orange to brown stamens. The flowers are on stout stems, which are sometimes brown-purple. The population is declining. It is summer-deciduous, dying back after flowering in mid- to late summer.

There are two subspecies:

  • Lilium humboldtii subsp. humboldtii
  • Lilium humboldtii subsp. ocellatum

Both are on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.

[edit] Cultivation

L. humboldtii prefers dry summer dormancy, with no water after blooming. It needs good drainage and prefers part shade.

[edit] References

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