Flora of North America species comparison

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Hesperocallis undulata

Ajo lily, desert lily
Habit Plants 3–18 dm; bulbs ovoid, 4–6 cm.
Leaves

basal;

blade 2–5 dm × 8–15 mm.
Racemes

4–18-flowered, 1–3 dm;

bracts 1–1.5 cm.
Flowers

perianth tube 1.5–2 cm;

limb lobes 3–4 cm × 6–10 mm;

filaments 2–2.5 cm;

anthers golden, 7 mm;

pedicel 1 cm.
Capsules

12–16 mm.
Seeds

5 mm.
2n

= 48.

Hesperocallis undulata
Phenology Flowering late Feb–May, following infrequent rains.
Habitat Dry, sandy flats to rocky hills of creosote bush scrub in Mojave and Sonoran deserts
Elevation 300–800 m (1000–2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The large, snowy white flowers of Hesperocallis undulata make it one of the showiest desert species, with consequent horticultural use. Native Americans used the bulbs for food (D. E. Moerman 1986), and the early Spanish colonists called the bulbs ajo, due to the garlic flavor.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 222.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Hesperocallis
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 391. (1867)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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