Desert / Ajo Lily (Hesperocallis undulata)

3/7/04 Coyote Canyon (N. DiGiorgio Rd.), Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA

3/7/04 Coyote Cyn., Anza Borrego

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Desert / Ajo Lily

SPECIES: Hesperocallis undulata

FAMILY: Agavaceae (Century Plant Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/7/2004

LOCATION: Coyote Canyon (N. DiGiorgio Rd.), Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Perennial; bulb 4–6 cm, ovoid, deep

Stem 30–180 cm, generally simple, ± scapose

Leaves mostly basal (cauline reduced), 20–50 cm, 8–15 mm wide, blue-green; margins wavy, white

Inflorescence: raceme; bracts conspicuous, ± ovate, papery; pedicels ± 1 cm

Flower jointed to pedicel, 4.5–6 cm, funnel-shaped; perianth parts 6, fused below, petal-like, white with silver-green midstripe, lobes 3–4 cm, ± oblanceolate, spreading; stamens 6, attached to perianth; ovary superior, chambers 3, style slender, stigma slightly 3-lobed

Fruit: capsule, 12–16 mm, 3-lobed, loculicidal

Seed ± 5 mm, flat, black

Ecology: Sandy flats

Elevation: < 800 m.  

Bioregional distribution: Desert 

Distribution outside California: w Arizona

Flowering time: Mar–May

Horticultural information: sand, DRN, SUN: 12, 13; DFCLT.