Jo and I were a little out of the Ozarks when we found this beautiful wildflower. We were on our way to an art fair in Oxford, MS, when we stopped to visit friends down in the Little Rock area. The ditch and adjoining marshy field where we exited off I-40 in rural Lonoke was full of spiderlilies.
I think this is a Spring Spiderlily (Hymenocallis liriosme). The Little Rock area could have both Spring Spiderlilies and Carolina Spiderlilies (Hymenocallis caroliniana). The Carolinas are more common and widespread, but one source said that Spring Spiderlilies have a more yellow center and these blooms seem to qualify in that regard. Regardless of species, spiderlilies have to be the most beautiful ditch plants we've ever found. They seemed very much out of place growing amongst the paper trash, broken bottles, plastic containers and old tires in the ditch.
Spiderlilies are native, deciduous herbs. They prefer moist soil and partial shade. Habitat includes flood plains, bottomland, ditches, ravines, depressions, marshes, stream banks, prairie, plains, meadows, pastures and savannas. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)
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5 comments:
very pretty.
very cool.
nellie
I have seen these beauties when down South. They look so delicate for being such a tough plant.
Beautiful, and they sound perfect for our swampy woods. Wonder if they'll grown in Indiana ... I'm off to google.
Gorgeous! There is an area just south of me, along the highway to Little Rock, where these plants seem to thrive. They are, indeed, among the most beautiful of ditch flowers. (Wish I had a yard full.)
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