Ithuriel's Spear, Triteleia laxa

About Ithuriel's Spear (Triteleia laxa) 15 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Ithuriel's Spear (Triteleia laxa) is a common native perennial herb in the Themidaceae (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.

It is a geophyte related to lilies and onions, growing from an edible corm. In spring it sends up one or a few slender grass-like leaves, followed by a leafless stem topped with a spray of blue to purple (rarely white) flowers. After flowering it needs a dry summer dormancy. The flowers strongly resemble members of the Brodiaea and Dichelostemma genera. In the garden it is best use in mass with other geophytes, showy annuals such as California Poppy, and native bunch grasses.

The number of flowers in any given year is highly variable. There are many named cultivar selections of Triteleia laxa in cultivation, including 'Humboldt Star', 'Queen Fabiola', and 'Sierra Giant'.

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
Butterfly gardens

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Shade, Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 15

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 Onions (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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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

Ithuriel's Spear

Triteleia laxa

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Ithuriel's SpearTriteleia laxa

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Ithuriel's Spear

Triteleia laxa