Salpichroa origanifolia

Lily-of-the-valley vine, cock's eggs

Family: Solanaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Lily-of-the-valley vine is a naturalized perennial found in the northern California Coast, western Central Western California, and southern California Coast regions in disturbed places, brushy sites, and riparian areas at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces white to greenish nodding flowers 3.5 to 10 millimeters long with a distinctive brick-red disk and a densely woolly inner ring. Growing as a decumbent to climbing vine up to 2 meters tall with densely puberulent stems, it spreads with a flexible habit. Its leaves are widely elliptic to ovate, 10 to 40 millimeters long with a 5 to 10 millimeter petiole, creating a soft green backdrop for the delicate flowers. The fruit is a white to pale yellow, somewhat translucent ovoid berry 10 to 15 millimeters long with a notably ill-smelling characteristic.

Habitat: Disturbed places, brushy sites, riparian areas

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: NCo, w CW, SCo

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