It's not a "rain lily" although it might be related. In temperate climates Rain lilies put out stappy leaves in spring, store energy and then die back. In fall a single stem emerges with multiple flowers a foot or so above the ground.

Could your lily be a single amaryllis? Time of the year is right, and a response to rain you've had?

This isn't it, but shows the petals of a single . In your part of the world someone might have brought something back that never had a name.

Thanks for the idea - the blooms do look similar. But, don't amaryllis usually have sturdy, single stems? This plant looks as if it has fallen over (probably in search of light), and the stems and foliage looks lily-like to me.

Jackie

It does look like a type of Zephyranthes or Rain Lily.

Thanks, roseseek - I will look those up.

Jackie

You're welcome, Jackie.

I looked up images of rain lilies, and they all seem to have very grass like foliage. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but I think what looks like grass in the background IS grass, and the blooms are actually coming from the stems which appear to be almost horizontal (rooted at the far right of the pic, or even beyond the right border.

I will obviously have to go and look at them myself - luckily my friend only lives about 4 blocks away.

Anyone have any other thoughts?

Jackie

Jackie, I'm almost 100% sure it's a sparaxis. They come in many colors/combinations, but here's a photo of a white form:

White Sparaxis Tricolor

Edit: Oh, and they are in the iris family, not the lily family..

I never thought of sparaxis! I have zillions of them, but none of them are that big, and 95% of mine are bright orange. I suspect mine are the species. I did manage to find one yellow/white one, and it looked a bit similar, but not identical. However the images of the white sparaxis tricolor hybrid on the internet is larger than mine, and I agree with your ID - thank you so much! I knew I would get an answer on this forum! (in less than 24 hours!). I love this forum (still crickets from the lily forum, but perhaps that is because they are NOT lilies!).

Jackie

That is so funny - they grow like weeds here, and YOU were able to identify them and I was not! Here are some pics of mine - as I said, they are much smaller than the alba maxima. My friend is so happy - she knows you cannot kill them here, and I told her I would help her see if we can propagate hers. (Mine are mostly bright orange, but there are some other colors).

Jackie

oooooh, Jackie. Yet another reason to be Hulk-green envious of you and your garden, lol.

I think they sell the bulbs in mixed colors here, and then as years go by the bright orange ones become dominant. To my delight, they don't just survive, they spread, and yesterday I noticed a clump growing happily in a completely different part of my garden where I have never planted any. Some other colors::

Jackie