Triteleia laxa

This article is about the wildflower. For the angelic being with a powerful spear, see Ithuriel.

Triteleia laxa (previously Brodiaea laxa) is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear,^[1] common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally found in southwestern Oregon. It bears a tall, naked stem topped with a spray of smaller stalks, each ending in a purple or blue flower. The flower is tubular, opening into a sharply six-pointed star. The plant grows from a corm which is edible and similar in taste and use as the potato.^[2] The most used common name for the species, Ithuriel's spear, is a reference to the angel Ithuriel from Milton's Paradise Lost.^{[citation needed]}

Triteleia laxa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Brodiaeoideae
Genus:	Triteleia
Species:	T. laxa
Binomial name
Triteleia laxa Benth.

Cultivation

Hardiness: USDA 6-10

Etymology

The genus name Triteleia is derived from Greek and means 'triplicate', a reference to its flower parts, which are in multiples of three. The epithet laxa means 'open', 'uncrowded', 'distant', 'spreading', or 'lax'.^[3] It is derived from the Latin adjective laxus, meaning 'flaccid, loose'.^[4]