Description

The fifteen or so species of triteleia found in California follow a lifecycle typical of geophytes in a Mediterranean climate. Following summer and early fall dormancy, several narrow lance=shaped leaves arise from the bulb. Mature plant will produce an umbel of large flowers at some point in the spring or early summer. As the seed matures the plant goes dormant, disappearing entirely until the cool moist months of mid-winter. The long rayed brodiaea grows in seasonally moist areas in the SF Bay Area and north coast. The flowers are white with an occasional violet blush. It is easy to grow if its simple needs are met, among them a dry dormancy (no summer water). Planting with other triteleias and brodiaeas will present many months of yellow, white and violet blooms. You might also get some interesting garden hybrids.