Common Starlily

Leucocrinum montanum

Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum) is a native perennial with fragrant, white, six-pointed flowers that sit right at ground level in a tuft of grass-like leaves, with no stem at all. One of the first wildflowers of the Black Hills spring, it blooms in April and May on dry grassland, rocky slopes and open pine woods, and the National Park Service lists it at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave and Devils Tower.

Free photos from other sources

Common Starlily: Cluster of white six-pointed flowers in a tuft of grass-like leaves — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). Brian Dickerson, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Common Starlily: White star-shaped flower with yellow anthers among grass — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). Craig Martin, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Common Starlily: Single flower nearly hidden in dry grass — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). Craig Martin, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Common Starlily: Whole plant, one stemless flower in the middle of its narrow leaves — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). L. Reid, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Starlily: Flowers and leaves among fallen pine needles — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). cwhippo, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Starlily: Close-up of yellow stamens in the throat of the flower — Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). Donald Hampton, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Quick facts
Family	Asparagaceae · Asparagus
Status	Native perennial
Blooms	April into May, with a few into early June
Height	5–10 cm (2–4 in)
Where	Dry grassland, rocky or sandy slopes and open pine woods
Also called	Sand Lily, Star Lily, Mountain Lily, yapízapi iyéčheča (Lakota)
Synonym	Leucocrinum montanum var. majus, Leucocrinum montanum var. fibrosum
Toxicity	An 1889 report passed on a claim that it is deadly to sheep after the fruit forms; no test or later source confirms it.
Traditional use	Black Elk and Flying By's 1998 Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota (Sitting Bull College) says the roots were roasted or cooked in soups and stews, and a root poultice was put on sores and swellings.

Roots, seeds & germination

Root: A short crown sits a few centimeters below the surface on a cluster of thick, fleshy, cord-like roots, with no bulb. The plant comes up in early spring, flowers and dies back to the roots by early summer.

Seed: The fruit is a small three-sided capsule, 5–8 mm, that ripens underground and splits to release a few black, angled seeds 3–4 mm long. How the seeds reach the surface is still debated.

Germination: Little is published, and no tested protocol was found. Seed is hard to collect because it ripens below ground, and an early report found most dug-up seeds damaged by insects and the sound ones failed to sprout.

How do you identify Common Starlily?

Look for a white, six-pointed star about 4–5 cm (1½–2 in) across, sitting right on the ground in a spray of narrow, grass-like leaves 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long, with no flower stalk at all. The six tepals are alike, pure white and slightly glossy, around six bright yellow anthers, and the flower smells sweet. The ovary stays buried at the crown, so the seed pod ripens underground and the leaves vanish by summer. Sego Lily blooms later, on a stem 15–45 cm (6–18 in) tall, with three broad petals in a cup, and Meadow Deathcamas has many small flowers in a spike on a tall stem.

When does it bloom?

April into May, with a few into early June.

Where does it grow?

Open, sunny, well-drained ground: dry grassland and prairie, rocky or sandy slopes, sagebrush and openings in ponderosa pine woods. GBIF holds herbarium specimens from every Black Hills county, from about 1,030 to 1,920 m (3,400–6,300 ft). The National Park Service lists it at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave and Devils Tower, and iNaturalist also has records from Custer State Park.