Description

This striking white-flowered brodiaea grows in a variety of sites in all counties north of San Luis Obispo County. The common characteristic seems to be wet conditions in the spring. Like all triteleias, the white brodiaea emerges from dormancy in the late winter with narrow, grass-like leaves. The leaves allow the corm to store energy for the next growth cycle. After a few years of producing only leaves, the flower stem rises high above the leaves, topped with an umbel of white flowers. As the seeds ripen, the plant begins to go dormant until finally, near the end of spring, the leaves and flower stock will turn brown. No amount of water will keep the plant green, and water should be withheld until the winter rains begin. The white brodiaea produces many offsets (small corms) as it matures. These can be lifted every few years and distributed in the garden.