My teenaged son found this in the woods over the weekend...

[AmyRey]

... and in a rare moment of thoughtfulness, he dug it up, brought it back to the house and planted it for me.

Obviously, it's some sort of lily, but I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it - certainly not growing wild. And he said it was the only one back there.

I should have taken these with something else in the frame to give it a sense of scale, but the clump of greenery is probably 15-18" wide and the individual blooms are 2.5-3" long.

 

[patandchickens]

I'm going to say Atamasco lily? I do not know of any lookalikes and that is sure what your pic looks like to me. Are your woods by any chance rather wet and boggy? I think of this as a borderline-swamp plant... although probably biased by having spent a lot more fieldwork time in the SE in swamps than in upland forests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephyranthes_atamasca , or google the name for more pics to check the ID.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AmyRey]

This sure sounds like a good fit:

Zephyranthes atamasca, commonly known as the Atamasco Lily or more generally a Rain Lily, is native to the southeastern United States. It grows in swampy forests and coastal prairies, preferring acid boggy soils rich with leaf mold. Following the appearance of broad, grassy leaves in early winter, they bloom in March or April.

Its native range extends from Florida north to southern Virginia and west to Mississippi.

I asked him this morning exactly where he found it. They were back on the creek bottom over the weekend so I figured he had gotten it from somewhere soggy. He said no, that it wasn't really that wet. And that it was in part sun/shade. I think I'll send him back there again this afternoon with a planter and tell him to get some native dirt. We'll have to move it to the porch, because it's in full sun and sand right now. I'm sure that won't be good for it.

Off to google more pics. Thanks!

 

[wsmoak]

Yep, it's the atamasco lily that grows wild here. I'm looking out my window at *thousands* of them in the low area where water drains across the property.

They also grow further up the slope -- not always in the boggy areas, though they do well there.

(If you keep an eye out, you can find some that have pink striations.)

-Wendy

 

[thistlebloom]

... and in a rare moment of thoughtfulness, he dug it up, brought it back to the house and planted it for me.
.

Awww.. don't you love it when your boys do stuff like that? So sweet, makes you want to keep them.

I grew them in another place I lived, but I had to buy them. They were the more domesticated ones, little pink guys that would come up after a rain. I loved them, because it always seemed like a bonus when they emerged as I had forgotten about them being there.

I am frequently surprised, forgetfulness being one of my charms...

 

[AmyRey]

I can honestly say that I have never seen any of these where we live. They are awfully pretty. I hope this one will stay alive on the porch in a pot. It doesn't stand a chance in the garden.

I have made a HUGE deal about how thoughtful and considerate it was for him to bring it home in hopes that the shower of praise will encourage future acts of kindness.

Lord knows, he really does have a good heart underneath all that teenager-itis. I had forgotten it was there! lol

 

[wsmoak]

I potted some for a friend who wants them -- so far, so good!

Here they are growing in the enchanted forest:

... and it goes on like that the whole length of the drainage area.

They seem to do okay in full sun *if* it's wet, and otherwise they're in dappled shade in both wet and dry (or drier at least) areas.

-Wendy

 

[AmyRey]

Oh man! Is that gorgeous or what?!?!

*swoon*

That is such a beautiful spot.

 

[gettinaclue]

That is lovely!

No wonder you call it the Enchanted Forest!

 

[lesa]

That is an enchanted forest! How long do the blooms last?