Triteleia ixioides
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Overview
Triteleia ixioides is a cormous perennial in the asparagus family, sending up one or two narrow, grass-like basal leaves and a slender flowering stem 8-24 inches (20-60 cm) tall from an underground corm. In late spring and summer the stem is topped by an open, branched umbel of 10-40 star-shaped flowers, each 0.5-0.75 inch (12-18 mm) wide and pale to golden yellow with a brownish or purple midvein on each of the six tepals. The flowers sit on slender stalks of varying length, giving the cluster an airy look, and they draw native bees and other small pollinators. After bloom the leaves wither and the plant retreats to its corm to wait out the dry summer and autumn. It grows on dry, open slopes, in chaparral, oak and pine woodland, and forest clearings of California and southern Oregon, from foothills into the mountains. The corms increase slowly and form loose colonies over time. Summer water during dormancy can rot the corms, so it depends on a dry rest period. The yellow, dark-veined flowers and grassy leaves separate it from the blue-flowered triteleias.
Native Range
Native to California and southern Oregon, where it grows from the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills up into mid mountain elevations. Typical habitats are dry, open woodlands of oak and pine, chaparral, and grassy or rocky slopes. It is widespread through much of cismontane California.Suggested Uses
Triteleia ixioides is used in native, rock, and dry-summer gardens, in meadow plantings, and naturalized among grasses and California bulbs. Its airy yellow umbels suit borders that go dry in summer and combine with other corm and bulb species. It also grows in containers given a dry dormant rest.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height8" - 2'
Width/Spread4" - 8"
Reaches mature size in approximately 3 years
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
pale to golden yellow with a dark midveinFoliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 5-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Triteleia ixioides grows in full sun to light shade on well-drained sandy, loamy, or rocky soil that dries out in summer. It is watered through the autumn-to-spring growth season and then kept dry while dormant, since summer moisture rots the corms. Corms are set 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) deep in autumn and left undisturbed to multiply. The plant is hardy in USDA zones 6-9 and needs no feeding in lean native soils. In gardens it suits the same dry-summer regime as California bulbs and Mediterranean plants. Crowded clumps can be lifted and divided during dormancy once the foliage has died down.Pruning
No pruning is needed beyond removing spent flower stalks if self-seeding is not wanted. The dying foliage is left in place until fully withered so the corm can recharge for the next season. Dormant clumps may be lifted and divided rather than pruned.Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing
Minimum container size: 2 gallons