Rain lily - an ephemeral beauty

Rain lilies (Zephyranthes longifolia) emerge just after the summer monsoon rains begin, in the Chihuahuan Desert. Each blooms for about a week, then forms seed capsules within a couple more weeks. The capsules fall away, and the plant vanishes into obscurity as a single grass-like leaf.

They grow from underground bulbs. And they are small - only 4-inches to 6-inches tall. The flowers are scarcely larger than a dime.

Near Carlsbad, NM