Alternate name: California False Hellebore

Family: Liliaceae, Lily view all from this family

Description A long, branched, dense cluster of relatively small, whitish or greenish flowers top the stout, leafy stem of this tall plant.
Flowers: 6 petal-like segments 1/2-3/4" (1.3-2 cm) long, each with a V-shaped green gland at base.
Leaves: 8-12" (20-30 cm) long, numerous, broad, ovate, plaited, without stalks, angled upward.
Height: 4-8' (1.2-2.4 m).

Warning Plants of the genus Veratrum are toxic, sometimes fatally, to humans and animals if ingested. California Corn Lily is extremely poisonous. Sheep that eat the plant in the early weeks of gestation produce lambs with deformed heads; the flowers are even poisonous to insects and may cause serious losses among honeybees. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.

Flower June-August.

Habitat Swamps and creek bottoms, wet meadows and moist forests.

Range Western Washington to southern California; east to New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.