Celestial-lily, Bartram’s ixia

Ixia coelestina W. Bartram, Travels Carolina, 155, unnumbered plate. 1791; Beatonia coelestina (W. Bartram) Klatt; Marica coelestina (W. Bartram) Ker Gawler; Salpingo-stylis coelestina (W. Bartram) Small; Sphenostigma coelestina (W. Bartram) R. C. Foster; Trichonema coelestina (W. Bartram) Sweet

Plants slender, 15–30 cm. Bulbs dark brown, 12 mm diam. Stems simple, rarely 1-branched. Leaves 3–4; basal leaves usually 2, blade narrowly lanceolate to linear, ca. 1/2 stem, 1–3 mm wide; cauline leaves 1(–2), distalmost often entirely sheathing, shorter than basal. Rhipidia usually 1–2-flowered; outer spathe 24–36 mm, inner (33–)40–55 mm. Tepals blue, lanceolate-ovate, ± equal, outer whorl slightly larger than inner, 24–32 × 14–17 mm; filaments distinct, ca. 3.5 mm; anthers 6–7 mm; ovary conic, often included in spathes, ca. 4 mm; style 10–12 mm; branches 3, flat, less than 2 mm. Capsules ovoid, 7–12 mm. Seeds ca. 2 mm. 2n = 28.

Flowering mostly May--Jul. Pine flatwoods; of conservation concern; Fla.

Calydorea coelestina blooms well only after a fire. The flowers open at sunrise and last about three hours. The species is rare, but not currently threatened. A single collection from Camden County, southern Georgia (Schallert s.n., UC) requires confirmation.