Hesperocallis undulata

Desert lily

Family: Agavaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Desert lily is a California native perennial found in southern California desert bioregions in sandy flats at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces large white flowers with silver-green midstripes, 4.5 to 6 centimeters long, with spreading oblanceolate lobes 3 to 4 centimeters in length. Growing with tall, generally simple stems 30 to 180 centimeters high, it emerges from a deep ovoid bulb 4 to 6 centimeters in size. Its mostly basal leaves are blue-green, 20 to 50 centimeters long with distinctively wavy white margins 8 to 15 millimeters wide. The fruit is a 12 to 16 millimeter three-lobed capsule containing flat black seeds.

Habitat: Sandy flats

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Inyo

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