Interesting Plant: Firecracker Brodiaea (Dichelostemma ida-maia)

Interesting Plant: Firecracker Brodiaea (Dichelostemma ida-maia)

Discovered this via the article 13 unique and interesting plants to grow in your garden on the Greener Living Blog. There are quite a few plants I will highlight here in future posts. — Douglas

Firecracker Brodiaea (Dichelostemma ida-maia)

Dichelostemma ida-maia is a species of flowering plant known as firecracker flower. It is native to northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in mountain forests, woodlands, and coastal meadows. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant for its showy crimson and cream flowers.

Dichelostemma ida-maia is a perennial which erects a tall, naked stem topped with an umbel of six to 20 flowers. Each flower is a cylindrical red tube two to three centimeters long. The tip of each flower lobe curls back to reveal a shiny white underside. The curls rim the mouth of the tubular flower in a corona, surrounding the small anthers and a stalked ovary. The flower hangs when it is in anthesis and holds itself erect as the fruit develops. One umbel may have some hanging flowers and some erect fruiting flowers at the same time. — Wikipedia

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Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas