Spear Lily

Queensland Mountain Lily

This stunningly architectural plant is renowned for its arching 2 metre-long leaves and its enormous, scarlet ‘toothbrush’ flowers.

Native to Australia, the Spear Lily (Doryanthes palmeri) grows in the coastal areas of northern New South Wales and Queensland. Although related to the spiky agaves, the sword-shaped, fleshy leaves are arranged in rosettes. It has roots which can contract and pull the plant closer to the ground during dry weather!

Did you know?
It flowers very rarely: at Kew it has bloomed only 4 times since 1948.

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