''Lilium maritimum'' is a species of

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

known by the common name coast lily. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it is known only from the coastline north of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. It formerly occurred south of San Francisco, but these occurrences have all been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

. The species is now restricted to the North Coast from Marin County to Del Norte County, and is most common in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

.Calflora taxon report, ''Lilium maritimum'' Kellogg coast lily
/ref> It grows in the

California coastal prairie California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It is found along the Pacific Coast, from as far south as L ...

habitat,

coniferous forests Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

, and bogs amongst ''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genus, genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucil ...

'' species.

Description

''Lilium maritimum'' is a perennial herb usually exceeding a meter in height and known to exceed two meters at times. Specimens from coastal bluffs and similar harsh habitats are much smaller. The plant grows from a scaly, elongated

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

several centimeters long. The oval leaves are mostly basal, with some located in several whorls about the stem. They may reach 18 centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

bears up to 13 large, nodding flowers. The flower is bell-shaped with 6

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s with tips recurved or curled tightly back. The tepals are up to 5 centimeters long and red to orange, usually with spots. There are 6

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s with large red anthers sometimes over a centimeter long, and a

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

which may be over 3 centimeters in length.

Pollinators

''Lilium maritimum'' flowers are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

Allen's Allen's, earlier A. W. Allen Limited, is an Australian brand of confectionery products produced by Nestlé. Allen's is the top brand of sugar confectionery in Australia. It is best known for Minties, a soft chewable mint-flavored confectionery, ...

and

Anna's hummingbird Anna's hummingbird (''Calypte anna'') is a medium-sized bird species of the family Trochilidae. It was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. It is native to western coastal regions of North America. In the early 20th century, Anna's hu ...

s when first open, and later by

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

s (''Bombus'' spp.).Flora of North America, ''Lilium maritimum''
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Lilium maritimum''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Lilium maritimum''''Lilium maritimum'' Calphotos Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q292121 maritimum Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Mendocino County, California