For years, I’ve recommended a plant—the rain lily (Zephyranthes spp.)—for people interested in building rain gardens. In truth, I’d never knowingly seen the plant in the field or a landscape, but many horticulture professionals I respect recommend it, and therefore so have I.

Rain gardens, if you’re not familiar, are essentially mini-stormwater holding areas, landscaped aesthetically and specifically designed to catch and hold runoff for a particular amount of time. The best plants for this application are those adapted to wet soil conditions but tolerant of drier ones as well. According to this IFAS publication, the rain lily checks all those boxes. It grows in part shade/part sun, has a high drought tolerance, and can thrive within the entire spectrum of soil types, including; “occasionally wet; clay; sand; acidic; loam; or slightly alkaline.”

This weekend, however, I was delighted to see my first rain lily in the wild. It bloomed in a forested park in Okaloosa County, where a large number of us had gathered to plant trees in honor of our Extension colleague, Sheila Dunning. Among the deep greens and browns, the flower stood out like a tiny beacon of light. These flowers can show up overnight, especially after a rain.

The species, also called “zephyr lily” or “fairy lily” for its magical emergence, is native throughout Florida and the coastal South. It was bright white, with light green in the center and yellow stamen. The open, 6-petaled blossom was on a stalk maybe 1-2” above the ground. The flower had pale pinkish purple streaks on the bottom edge of the petals, but they can range in color from white to pink and yellow.

While the perennial blooms only last a few days, their accompanying leaves make a nice grassy edging the rest of the year. Rain lilies can make a lovely mass planting in the ground or a container. They grow via bulbs and can be hard to find commercially, but are available from specialty mail-order nurseries and bulb divisions from other growers.

Keep in mind that the plant can be toxic to livestock like horses, cattle, and chickens. Like many native species, the plant had medicinal use by Seminole Indians—they used it for treating toothaches!

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