Erythronium helenae

St. helena fawn lily, St. Helena Fawn Lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

St. helena fawn lily is a rare (CNPS 4.2) California native perennial found in southern North Coast Ranges Interior near Mount Saint Helena in dry serpentine woodland at elevations of 300 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white flowers with yellow bases that turn slightly pink with age, 25 to 40 millimeters long, emerging singly or in clusters of up to three. Growing with slender stems 15 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges from an ovoid bulb that can produce small sessile bulblets. Its leaves are 10 to 20 centimeters long, widely lanceolate to ovate, with wavy margins and distinctive mottled brown or white patterning. The plant's delicate white flowers feature yellow stamens and a slightly bent white style, creating an elegant woodland presence.

Habitat: dry woodland, on serpentine

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 300-1200 m

Bioregions: s NCoRI (near Mount Saint Helena).

California counties: Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Shasta, Alameda

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