We just had a few rainy days, so I guessed there would be something interesting in our backyard. I was not disappointed.

The first thing I spotted was all the rain lilies (Cooperia pedunculata). We have some white ones but most of them are this beatiful yellow and red combination. Rain lilies, also known as prairie lilies or hill country rain lilies, bloom for just a few days after a rainfall. They start to open at dusk, as these are, and are fully opened by dawn.

The single flower sits atop a 6 to 9 inch stem and the flowers are at most about 2 inches in diameter when fully opened.

Rain Lilies

We have some lantana (Lantana urticoides) in our landscape near the house and the plants are in full bloom. I got a close up shot of the small buds just as they’re starting to open. You can barely see fully-developed flowers in the background. Lantana is a member of the verbena family and is a hardy native.

Lantana Buds

I saw several small mushrooms scattered about too. I think these are members of the genus amanitas, which contains about 650 species. They are some of the world’s deadliest mushrooms and are responsible for about 95% of the deaths from mushroom poisoning. They’re pretty, but don’t touch and certainly don’t eat them!

Amanita Mushroom