Dichelostemma volubile

Twining brodiaea, snake lily, Snake Lily

Family: Themidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Twining brodiaea is a California native perennial found in northern California regions including the Coast Ranges, Cascade Range foothills, and Sierra Nevada foothills in woodland and chaparral habitats at elevations of 100 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pink to white flowers in dense umbel-like clusters with 6 to 30 blooms, featuring a distinctive spheric perianth tube and spreading floral lobes. Growing with an impressively long twining scape 40 to 150 centimeters tall that becomes scabrous, it develops a unique climbing habit unusual for a brodiaea. Its leaves are 3 to 4 in number, keeled and extending 30 to 70 centimeters long, with wide-ovate bracts approximately 12 to 15 millimeters long. The flower has an intricate white crown that folds inward, partially hiding the cream-white anthers and creating a delicate, complex floral structure.

Habitat: Foothill woodland, chaparral scrub

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-2800 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaRF, SNF.

California counties: Tulare, Lake, Yuba, Tehama, Placer, El Dorado, Madera, Mariposa, Yolo, Tuolumne, Napa, Kern, Solano, Calaveras, Amador, Nevada, Fresno, Colusa, Contra Costa, Butte, Mendocino, Glenn, San Bernardino, Stanislaus

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.