Lilium columbianum

Columbia lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Columbia lily is a California native perennial found in northwestern bioregions in dry scrub, coastal prairie, and conifer forest gaps, especially along the coast, at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces orange flowers with red-tinged backs, widely bell-shaped and 3.4 to 7.1 centimeters long, hanging pendulously with reflexed petals. Growing up to 1.7 meters tall with erect-ovoid bulbs and ascending stems, it forms 1 to 9 whorls of leaves. Its leaves are wavy-margined, approximately oblanceolate to obovate, measuring 1.5 to 16 centimeters long and varying from glaucous to green. The flowers feature distinctive spreading stamens with yellow anthers that extend beyond the perianth, creating a striking visual display.

Habitat: dry scrub, coastal prairie, gaps and roadsides in conifer forest especially along coast

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: nw NW

California counties: Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino, Tulare, Plumas, Trinity, Siskiyou, Shasta, Sierra, Fresno, Inyo, Mono

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