Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Dichelostemma volubile is a species of flowering plant known by the common names twining snakelily and twining brodiaea. This wildflower is endemic to the mountain foothills of California, where it grows in scrub and woodland. It grows tall, erect, naked stems topped with spherical flower clusters of up to 30 densely-packed pink flowers. Each flower is a tube up to a centimeter long with a spreading corolla of six petal-like lobes. The purplish or reddish stems may twine tightly around each other and occasionally other plants.

Plant type

Perennial herb, Geophyte

Size

2 ft Tall

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Color

Pink, White, Purple, Red

Flowering season

Spring, Summer

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Very Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Propagation

For propagating by seed: Optimum germination requires 40°F constant with 8 hrs. light per day or a wide diurnal fluctuation from 40° to 80°F (Keator 1968). Sowing outdoors in fall may give satisfactory germination.

Sunset Zones

5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Plant communities

Woodland

Butterflies