Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 99 



"The time when lilies blow 

 And clouds are highest in the air!' 



The Little Alpine or Small Leopard Lily (L. parvum) 



By Roland Rice 



The little Alpine or small Leopard Lily, L, parvum, grows in 

 the wild, free places of higher altitudes, in springy places and along 

 the edges of swamps or stream banks. It is far more fragile appear- 

 ing than its showy relative, L. pardalinum, the larger Leopard Lily, 

 buf seems abundantly able to take care of itself and seeks less shel- 

 tered places for its haunts. These plants vary somewhat in appear- 

 ance in different localities, but are frequently found in profusion at 

 altitudes ranging from six or seven thousand to as high as eleven 

 thousand feet; they grow from a foot and a half to eight or nine 

 feet tall, and bear from half a dozen to thirty or forty small, brilliant 

 lily bells. The flowers are usually about an inch and a quarter long, 

 funnel-shaped, or recurved only at the tips of the petals. They are 

 bright orange-yellow in color, spotted with purple. The slender, 

 beautiful plant rocks and sways with gentle dignity in the mountain 

 breezes. During their blossoming season, these brilliant lilies con- 

 stitute a real glory of the Alpine regions. 



The Leopard Lily is always associated with quiet places in the 

 hills ; perhaps beside some rushing stream where one rests upon a 

 bank for a moment from the quest of trout in the foaming riffles. 



The tall, graceful plant often exceeds six feet in height, and is 

 crowned with many blooms, which are three or four inches across. 

 The sight of a colony of several hundred of these colorful blossoms 

 towering above the green ferns and grass on the moist bank of 

 stream or spring is enchanting. The petals are usually recurved 

 from the base, and are pale orange-yellow on the outside and a deep 

 orange color within, spotted with maroon and tipped with scarlet. 

 The long anthers hanging down are purplish or brown, surrounding 

 the bright green pistil. The leaves, six or seven inches long, are 

 in whorls on the long green stalks. 



The Leopard Lily is widely distributed along the Coast Range 

 Mountains near the seas, and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains below 

 the three thousand foot elevations. It grows in the rich, wet earth 

 of shaded places in the canons. Over thirty blossoms and buds 

 have been counted on a single stalk, and often twelve or more are 

 in bloom at one time. But six or seven flowers are the usual num- 

 ber. The bulbous roots are scaly and often are matted together. 



The Humboldt Lily (Lilium humboldtii) is often mistaken for 

 the Leopard Lily, and both are sometimes called Tiger Lilies, which 

 is wrong, as the "Tiger Lily" is a native of China and is often cul- 

 tivated in our gardens. Leopard Lily seems more appropriate for 

 Lilium pardalinum, as the spots are so clearly marked on it. The 

 Humboldt Lily is a larger flower, and has a more golden coloring 

 without the reddish tints. It grows on the dry hillsides. Both 

 flowers bloom in the summer, usually in July. 



