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Zantedeschia aethiopica
Also called Arum lily, White or common arum lily, Altar Lily, Lily Of The Nile, Pig Lily, White Arum Lily, Common Calla
Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is a rhizomatous perennial from southern Africa, grown for its large white spathes and dark green arrow-shaped leaves. It thrives with moist soil and part shade, and it can become invasive in wet areas where it is naturalised.
Zantedeschia aethiopica, commonly known as calla lily, arum lily, and death lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini.
A number of cultivars have been selected as ornamental plants:
'Crowborough' is a more cold tolerant cultivar growing to 90 cm (35 in) tall, suited to cool climates, such as Ireland or Britain and the north-western United States.
Z. aethiopica is native to southern Africa, specifically Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini. It has naturalised in Kenya, Madeira, Azores, Malawi, New Zealand, Tanzania, Zambia, coastal California, in western Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to Ireland, the high altitude mountainous areas of Luzon in the Philippines, and Australia, particularly in Western Australia where it has been classified as a toxic weed and pest. The majority of invasive populations are located in coastal prairies and wetlands near human settlements. It is also a highly invasive species in riparian zones and pastureland of Western Australia and New Zealand. The cultivar 'Green Goddess' is listed in the New Zealand National Pest Plant Accord, which proscribes its cultivation, sale, and distribution.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zantedeschia aethiopica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
