About Dichelostemma ida-maia (Alph.Wood) Greene
Dichelostemma ida-maia is a perennial plant that grows a tall, bare stem, which is topped by an umbel containing 6 to 20 flowers. Each individual flower forms a cylindrical red tube, measuring two to three centimeters in length. The tip of each flower lobe curls backward, exposing a shiny white underside. These curled lobes form a corona around the mouth of the tubular flower, surrounding the small anthers and the stalked ovary. While the flower is in bloom (in anthesis), it hangs downward, but it becomes erect once the fruit begins to develop. A single umbel can have both hanging open flowers and erect fruiting flowers at the same time.
