Spotted Humboldt's Lily, Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum

About Spotted Humboldt's Lily (Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum) 5 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Spotted Humboldt's Lily is one of two recognized subspecies of Lilium humboldtii. This is a rare native perennial herb that grows from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County, on some of the Channel Islands, and in northern Baja. Due to its limited distribution it is included on CNPS list 4.2. This subspecies was previously known as L.h. ssp. bloomerianum, and some sources may still refer to it by that name. It tends to grow in dry shade at elevations from near sea level to 5,500 feet. The large and showy flowers are golden-orange with dark red or maroon splotches and orange to brown stamens. The plant flowers in June, with flowers growing in a pyramidal flower cluster. The flowers are on stout stems, which are sometimes brown-purple. The subrhizomatous bulb is large, with yellowish-white scales, and grows very deep in the soil. The leaves grow in whorls, and are undulate, shiny, and oblance-shaped. It is summer-deciduous, dying back after flowering in mid- to late summer, and it should be allowed to go dry at that time. In winter it will do well with minimal supplemental water unless it is an especially dry winter.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

6 - 8 ft tall
1 - 2 ft wide

Form

Upright Columnar

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Flower Color

Brown, Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

The flowers attract various pollinating insects including the Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly
Hummingbird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Reaper Dart Euxoa messoriaEuxoa messoria

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 5

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil Drainage

Fast

Soil Description

Prefers well draining, slightly acidic soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants

Use in the understory of trees and large shrubs of the south Coast Ranges or Channel Islands, such as Oaks (Quercus sp.), Pines (Pinus sp.), Santa Cruz Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Summer Holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Ceanothus sp., and Holly-leafed Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia).

Maintenance

May be cut back to the ground in late summer after it has gone completely dormant

Sunset Zones?

7*, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting

Site Type

Shaded woodland canyons in southern California, openings in chaparral, woodland or pine forest

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 10.5" - 46.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.84", Coldest Month: 36.9" - 54.5", Hottest Month: 56.3" - 81.0", Humidity: 0.91" - 31.99", Elevation: -62" - 7078"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Humboldt Lily

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Spotted Humboldt's Lily

Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum

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Spotted Humboldt's LilyLilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum

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Spotted Humboldt's Lily

Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum