Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis)

On our recent trip to the Piedmont NWR in Jones County, Georgia, we drove south from GA-83 into the wildlife area on Starrs Road. I saw a couple of flashes of orange in Jasper County. I month or so ago I would have dismissed them as Orange daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva). But, for the most part, daylilies have finished blooming, and these blooms seemed smaller. So… we backed up and I hopped out of the car to investigate. Sure enough, these were smaller lilies. These were Blackberry lilies (Belamcanda chinensis), also known by the common name Blackberry-lily.

From the car. The flower heads are hardly visible. They are slightly to the right of the center of the photo.

A closer view.

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Close views of an individual flower.

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After blooming, the petals twist up and then dry up. In the foreground, flowers have just completed blooming. Dried-up flowers are visible in the background still attached to the developing seed pods.

This view shows flower buds, flowers, and developing seed pods. When the seeds ripen the pod will open to reveal the seeds that look like a blackberry – hence the name Blackberry Lily.

Enjoy another posting on the Blackberry Lily from Nellie at Beyond My Garden.

Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis) is native to Japan and Korea. In the Unites States, it grows in states east of a line from Minnesota and South Dakota south to Texas. In Georgia, it has been documented in counties at the edge of the Piedmont from Elbert to Jones counties as well as in Appling County.
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Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry Lily)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Belamcanda chinensis

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis)
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry-lily)

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index