Carried by 1 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Humboldt's Lily (Lilium humboldtii ssp. humboldtii) is one of two recognized subspecies of Lilium humboldtii. This subspecies is a rare native perennial herb that grows primarily in the Cascade and Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains. Due to its limited distribution, it is included on CNPS list 4.2. It tends to grow at elevations from 600 to 4,000 feet. It grows up to 8 feet tall, with flowers that are large and showy, 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.
Perennial herb, Geophyte
6 - 8 ft Tall
1 ft Wide
Upright Columnar
Moderate
Summer Deciduous
Brown, Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow
Spring, Summer
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Low, Moderate, Very Low
Max 1x / month once established
Tolerates cold to 0° F
Medium, Slow
Tolerates clay but prefers well drained loam.
Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.0
Can be cut back to the ground in late summer after it has gone completely dormant
For propagating by seed: Sow outdoors in summer for germination the following spring, or 3-6 mos. warm then 2-3 mos. cold stratification. Seeds may also give good germination by spring if sown outdoors in early fall. For forcing slightly green or fresh seeds: 6-8 wks. warm (70°F) stratification or until the majority of seeds have formed bulblets; then 4-6 wks. cold (about 35°FJ stratification; sow, and at 55 to 60°F leaves should be produced in 4-6 wks. (De Graaff 1951).
1, 2, 7*, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Moist canyons, protected places on slopes or flats, often alongside streams
Chaparral, Yellow Pine Forest
Southern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Tree Anemone (Carpenteria californica), Ceanothus species, Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis), Dogwood (Cornus spp.), Silktassel Bush (Garrya spp.), Mallow (Malacothamnus spp.), Mock Orange (Philidelphus lewisii), Oaks (Quercus spp.), Gooseberry (Ribes spp.), ferns
Butterflies and moths supported
0 confirmed and 2 likely
Reaper Dart
Euxoa messoria
Virginian Tiger Moth
Spilosoma virginica