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Mapoch Lily

Zantedeschia pentlandii (zan-teh-DES-kee-ah pent-LAN-dee-eye)

Family: Araceae Non-native Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Deciduous plant with beautiful yellow flowers. These often grow in dense colonies among rocks. Needs full sun to flower. Leaves are green with white dots. Not a true lily. The diminutive size, is set off by the beautiful yellow color of the flowers with purple blotchs at base of spathe. Works well planted in a water garden, along a border, or in a container outdoors or as a houseplant. More information on Zantedeschia .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 62 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Zantedeschia aethiopica

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Bulb; Houseplant; Poisonous
Life cycle
Bulb
USDA zones
8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Erect; Mounding
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green; Variegated
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves deciduous, up to 30" long, usually shorter than the peduncles, petiolate, petioles up to 15" long, clasping at the base; blade yellowish grass-green, usually immaculate (seldom maculate) oblong-elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, hastate, obtuse to acute, abruptly apiculate, up to 17" long and 8" wide. Z. pentlandii has immaculate (or very rarely spotted) oblong-lanceolate leaves, slightly constricted above the short, hastate, rounded lobes; the apex is obtuse (or sometimes acute) with a subulate, seldom recurving tip.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Spadix
Flower shape
Funnel
Flower size
3-6 inches
Flower detail
Diminutive size, beautiful yellow color with purple blotch at base of spathe.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer; Winter
Fruit color
Green
Fruit detail
Fruit green, few in number, with up to 20 seeds.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
South Africa, Mpumalanga
Distribution
Mapoch region of Mpumalanga
Play value
Colorful
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Houseplants; Pond; Small Space
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden; Cutting Garden; Rain Garden; Rock Garden; Water Garden
Design feature
Border; Specimen
Garden tags
#pond margins #showy flowers #border planting #cutting garden #interiorscape #water garden #poisonous #sandy soils tolerant #rock garden #deciduous #spadix #container plant #annual
Problems & Resistance
Problems
Poisonous to Humans
Resistant to
Deer; Rabbits
Propagation
Division
Poison severity
High
Poison parts
Flowers; Leaves; Roots; Sap/Juice; Stems
Poison symptoms
Severe burning sensation and swelling of lips, tongue, and throat; stomach pain and diarrhea possible
Toxic principle
Calcium oxalate crystals and possibly others.
Contact dermatitis
No
Toxicity summary
High severity poison; parts: Flowers; Leaves; Roots; Sap/Juice; Stems

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.