Lilium humboldtii

Humboldt's lily

Family: Liliaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Humboldt's lily is a California native perennial found in coastal and inland mountain ranges in mixed conifer and chaparral habitats at elevations ranging from near sea level to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces stunning large pendent flowers in orange or yellow, with perianth parts 5.6 to 9.5 centimeters long that dramatically reflex in their upper 80 percent. Growing to nearly 3 meters tall, the lily emerges from an erect-ovoid bulb with brown-purple stems supporting distinctive whorled leaves. Its leaves are ascending, 4.5 to 14.5 centimeters long, with generally wavy margins and an oblanceolate shape that creates an elegant architectural structure. The flower's distinctive purple anthers bearing red-brown to tan-yellow pollen and widely diverging filaments make this lily a striking botanical specimen in its native landscape.

California counties: Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Madera, San Bernardino, Kern, Tulare, Riverside, Amador, Calaveras, Plumas, Butte, Nevada, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado, Fresno, Mendocino, San Luis Obispo

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