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Ithuriel's Spear
( Triteleia laxa )
Triteleia laxa
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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About Ithuriel's Spear (Triteleia laxa)
16 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Ithuriel's Spear (
Triteleia laxa
) is a common native perennial herb in the Lily family that grows primarily in northern and central California. It tends to grow in openings in forest or woodland with sandy soil, at elevations from 0-4600 feet.
Grassy blade-like leaves emerge in late winter and begin to go dormant just before flowering. Loose purple, star-shaped flower clusters arise on foot-long stems in late spring to early summer. Numerous insects including bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers, and some mammals will dig up and eat the corms.
Extremely easy to grow, Ithuriel's Spear prefers sandy soil but thrives even in clay soil and under native oaks. It can take full sun and will be healthier if allowed to dry out and go dormant in the summer but will survive regular irrigation. Plant the corms 4 inches deep and mass for best effect. It will naturalize over time among other plants or grasses.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Perennial herb
Size
2 ft tall
.5 ft wide
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous
Flower Color
Blue, Lavender, Purple, White
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer
Wildlife Supported
Numerous insects including bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers. Some mammals will dig up and eat the corms
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Shade, Part Shade, Full Sun
Moisture
Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 16
Soil Drainage
Medium, Slow
Soil Description
Does well in sandy soil but can also tolerate clay soil
Common uses
Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens
Companion Plants
Best used with other geopytes such as
Wild Onion
s (
Allium sp.
),
Mariposa Lily
(
Calochortus sp.
),
Dichelostemma sp.
, and
Brodiaea sp.
; also with annual wildflowers such as
California Poppy
(
Eschscholzia californica
),
Clarkia sp.
,
Baby Blue Eyes
(
Nemophila menziesii
), and
Chinese Houses
(
Collinsia heterophylla
); and bunch grasses such as
California Melic
(
Melica californica
), Small-flowered Melic (
Melica imperfecta
), Purple-
Needlegrass
(Stipa pulchera), and Foothill
Needlegrass
(
Stipa lepida
).
Propagation
?
The plant is most easily established by planting corms. For propagating by seed: No treatment.
Sunset Zones
?
5, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Open sandy places, meadows; most often in open oak or pine woodland areas.
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 6.9" - 129.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 3.43", Coldest Month: 36.7" - 55.4", Hottest Month: 53.8" - 79.2", Humidity: 0.09" - 27.90", Elevation: -22" - 6704"
Alternative Names
Botanical Names
: Brodiaea laxa,Brodiaea candida
Common Names
: Grassnut
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Ithuriel's Spear
Triteleia laxa
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
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