First, thank you for reading a post of a newbie. I found this site while looking to identify this strange flower that just popped up among my grass. I live 30 miles NE of Houston, Texas. My yard is full of St. Augustine grass that usually gets mowed once a week. Conditions being what they are, I have not been able to mow for 3 weeks now. The grass is getting really tall... but this plant shot up some 18 to 20 inches in that short amount of time and put out this really strange looking bloom. (I hope the attachments come through.) As you can see, it's just a single stalk, but at the top it branches into 7 separate blooms. I've spent hours online trying to find a picture of anything like this, but have been unseccessful. I'd really appreciate any input you might provide. Is this plant native to Texas? Is it possible that it has always been there but I've kept mowing it down? Thanks for any input. Max.
Kinda makes ya wish ya stopped mowing earlier! I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like it would have grown from a bulb, so you wouldn't have had a chance to ever realise it was there if you were mowing.
Spider Lily http://www.geocities.com/worldkigo/spiderlily.html I haven't seen one with white in it before. I bit into a stem of one when I was a kid and remember it being very bitter!
That is certainly it. The photo is a bit misleading on the color, though. It's actually all red. The flash on the camera was so close that it washed out some of the color. I suspect that was also the case on many of the google images that were linked to above. I'd still love to know how it got there. If it's from a bulb, I can't imagine it just blowing in. I suppose the previous home owner could have planted it there, but because of where I found it, it seems unlikely. Also, would it be possible to transplant this thing to another location? I really hate to mow it over, but it's not in a good location to keep. Thanks everyone for the replies. It's kinda cool to read about the flower's history. Now if I could just discover *my* flower's history... :) Max.
Yes, it is a bulb that can be transplanted. They have leaves, which die out before the flower and stem come up. You will probably see them popping up everywhere now that you are aware of them. They seem to come up overnight. There are a lot of them in NE. Texas. I don't know about the Houston area. A lot of people line their sidewalks with them.
I just wanted to say... THIS FORUM AND EVERYONE ON IT ROCKS!! I found the same thing in my yard, and I was unable to identify it until I came across this website and this thread. Like MAX, I found my spider lily in an unusual area and can't imagine how it could have gotten there. I'm pleased to read that I can transplant it so it won't get mowed over anymore! Thanks to everyone!
