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Zephyranthes simpsonii Chapm.
Simpson's Zephyrlily
Redmargin Zephyrlily
Simpson's Rainlily
Florida native
Threatened Florida species
A frequent wildflower of wet flatwoods and meadows mostly in the central peninsula south into Collier County. The range includes the southeastern coastal states from Mississippi into North Carolina.
The mostly white flowers are funnel-shaped and up to 5cm (2 in.) across and solitary on a stalk up to 30.5cm (12 in.) tall. There are pink stripes on the backs of the sepals and the pink tinge on the flowers darkens as they mature. Z. simpsonii differs from other species of this genus by having a three-parted stigma that is nearly the same height or slightly shorter than the anthers, all of which extend beyond the green perianth tube. The narrow channeled leaves are 1.5-5mm (1/6-3/16 in.) wide and 30.5-51cm (12-20 in.) long.
While most of this genus blooms after spring or early summer rains, Simpson's zephyrlily typically flowers in response to fire naturally started by summer thunderstorms. The species is named for Illinois botanist Joseph Herman Simpson(1841-1918) who moved to Bradenton in 1882 and collected plants in south Florida for the United States National Herbarium.
Zephyranthes simpsonii is a member of the Amaryllidaceae - Amaryllis family.
Other species of the Zephyranthes genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Zephyranthes atamasca var. atamasca - ATAMASCO LILY
Zephyranthes robusta - COPPERLILY
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jun 20, 2023
