TEXAS SPIDER LILY
Texas Spider Lily (Hymenocallis galvestonensis) grows in moist soil, in ditches, or on the edges of ponds. It is particularly abundant on the coastal prairie. A thick, fleshy flower stalk grows from a cluster of strap-shaped leaves about an inch broad and bears 4—6 white flowers in a cluster at the top of the stalk. The scientific name means “beautiful membrane” and refers to the delicate white funnel-tube uniting the bases of the 6 stamens. The 3 linear petals and the three similar sepals are about 6 in. long, united at their lower half into a slender tube. The upper half spreads, giving rise to the common name of spider lily. The flowers bloom from March to May. It was long ago introduced into cultivation and is considered quite hardy in the North.
Western Spider Lily (Hymenocallis occidentalis) has similar flowers, but blooms in the summer after the leaves die back. It is found in moist soil and on shaded hillsides from Northeast Texas to Indiana and Georgia.
IRIS FAMILY (Iridaceae)
PLEATED-LEAF IRIS PRAIRIE CELESTIAL WOODLAND CELESTIAL
Perennial herbs with bulbs, corms, or rhizomes; leaves usually basal and flattened at the sides; 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal; stamens 3; ovary below the perianth; fruit a 3-celled capsule.
Pleated-Leaf Iris (Herbertia caerulea) has pleated leaves like the celestials, but the flowers are quite different, the 3 sky-blue sepals being large and spreading and the 3 petals small and inconspicuous. The bases are white with violet markings. It is very abundant on the Coastal Plain of Louisiana and Texas in April and May. The name is in honor of William Herbert, a distinguished English botanist.
Prairie Celestial (Nemastylis acuta) has 6-parted sky-blue flowers with the 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal, white at the base. The 2-branched thread-like styles, from which the name is derived, spread horizontally between the 3 erect stamens. It grows on the prairies of North Texas to Kansas and Tennessee.
Woodland Celestial (Nemastylis texana) with its steel-blue flowers is more abundant in the southern part of the state in open post oak woods. Like the pleated-leaf iris, the flowers of the celestials open late in the morning and remain open only a few hours.