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Star Lily
Leucocrinum montanum Nutt. ex Gray
Other names: Sand lily, Mountain lily, Wild tuberose, Star of Bethlehem
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Family: Liliaceae,
Lily
Genus: Leucocrinum
Description
General: stemless perennial, about 5-10 cm tall, with a
short, deeply buried rhizome and fibrous roots, the flower
stalks arising directly from the rhizome.
 Leaves: basal, tufted, linear, grass-like, up to 20 cm
long and 2-8 mm broad, strongly nerved and more or less
white-edged, sheathed at base by membranous bracts.
 Flowers: few to several from the base of the plant.
Flowers fragrant, the 6 tepals white, linear-lanceolate to
narrowly oblong-elliptic, 20-25 mm long and up to 7 mm
broad, the lower part forming a long, slender tube mostly
5-8 cm long. Filaments very slender, about 10-12 mm
long, anthers 4-6 mm long.
Flowering time: April-June.
 Fruits: capsule at or below ground level, obovoid,
3-angled, firm but elastic and corrugated, splitting along
the middle of each of the 3 compartments, few-seeded,
5-7 mm long. Seeds black, shiny, 3-4 mm long.
Distribution
Sagebrush desert to open montane forest, in sandy to
rocky areas or in fairly heavy soil, but not where at all
swampy, in w., c. and e. parts of MT. Also from OR to CA
and NM, and across ID to SD.
 Edible and Medicinal plant, see below.
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(click on image for full size)
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(click on images for full size)
Edible Uses:
The roots of star lily were reportedly used for food by the Crow Indians.
Medicinal Uses:
The Paiute and Shoshoni Indians used a poultice of the pulverized roots and applied it to sores and swellings.
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