Photograph by Sparkle Clark

Rocky Shoals
Spider Lily (Hymenocallis coronaria)

Life Cycle

Mature seeds fall off the lilies

and sink until they hit the
bottom. If they land on a
shallow shelf, they
germinate.

Help Save Some, but not all,

flowers will set seed.
Some seeds mature
Seedlings become juveniles

The Rocky Shoals and eventually fall off

the plant to try and
form a seedling. Other
and do not bloom for the
first couple of years of life.

Spider Lily seeds rot before they

finish maturing.

Don’t try to grow them in TAKE PICTURES, Admire them from your boat
your yard! or river banks.
NOT FLOWERS
If you pick them, they can’t form
a seed. More seeds means more
lilies for the future!
Once they
reach 2-3
Photograph by Sparkle Clark
years of age,
the lilies
LEAVE THE LILIES
flower. Older WATCH
As the lilies grow, they WHERE
form a
WHERE THEY LIVE
lilies will put root mass thatYOU anchors
WALK them
on more to the shallows. This keeps
They grow best on shallow
flowers. themDon’t
fromwalk on the
getting shoals where
swept
shoals in the river where the Take only pictures so we can awaythey live. You
by swift rivercould crush them
currents.
water flows over their roots. enjoy them for years to come. accidentally.

Unless otherwise designated, all photographs are by the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily Preservation Team.
 The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily
A Southern Beauty
About This Beautiful Plant!
The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily (RSSL)
(Hymenocallis coronaria), also called the
Cahaba Lily, is a flowering aquatic plant. It is
native to large streams and rivers in South
Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. As the name
would suggest, these areas usually consist of
rocky shoals and bedrock outcrops that
provide anchor points for the RSSL’s roots
and bulbs. RSSL grows best in constantly
flowing, shallow water.
The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily is
considered a FEDERAL SPECIES OF
The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily
CONCERN by the United States Fish & (Hymenocallis coronaria) is also called
Wildlife Service. Historically, their decline has the Cahaba Lily. It is typically found
been attributed to man-made changes in river in large streams and rivers in South
The Rocky and stream channels Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
Shoals Spider that lead to loss of
Lily is considered shoal habitat. Current populations are still threatened by modification
a FEDERAL of river flows and fluctuating water levels resulting from dam
SPECIES OF operations, water pollution and people trying to collect them for use
CONCERN. in gardens.

Experience The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily!

Columbia Riverfront Park has excellent vantage points to view the Rocky
Shoals Spider Lilies. The lilies are in the island complex at the confluence of the Broad and
Saluda rivers and just upstream of the
confluence in the bypass reach of the Broad Help Out By
River downstream of the Columbia Diversion Following These Rules
Dam. Each spring from mid-April to May in this • Don’t pick the lilies! Leave the
section of the Broad River, one to three stalks flowers to form new seeds.
will emerge from a RSSL bulb and each will • Leave the lily plants! Don’t try and
produce a group of six to nine beautiful white replant them at home.
flowers. Peak flowering usually occurs from mid-
• Don’t walk on their islands! You
May to mid-June. might crush them.
 Map of Rocky Shoals Spider Lily Colonies

This map shows

where Rocky
Shoals Spider
Lily colonies can
be found.

Have fun finding

them as you
explore the river,
but remember to
TAKE ONLY
PICTURES!

About The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily Preservation Team!

The City of Columbia, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources (SCDNR), the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have joined
together to form a Rocky Shoals Spider Lily preservation team. Our goal is to reestablish Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies along
stretches of the Broad, lower Saluda, and Congaree Rivers and to raise public awareness about them.
Photograph by Sparkle Clark

Rocky Shoals
Spider Lily (Hymenocallis coronaria)

Life Cycle

Mature seeds fall off the lilies

and sink until they hit the
bottom. If they land on a
shallow shelf, they
germinate.

Some, but not all,

flowers will set seed. Seedlings become juveniles
Some seeds mature and do not bloom for the
and eventually fall off first couple of years of life.
the plant to try and
form a seedling. Other
seeds rot before they
finish maturing.

Once they
reach 2-3
years of age,
the lilies
flower. Older As the lilies grow, they form a
lilies will put root mass that anchors them
on more to the shallows. This keeps
flowers. them from getting swept
away by swift river currents.

Unless otherwise designated, all photographs are by the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily Preservation Team.