On an unusually hot and muggy May day at the Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge, the Cahaba lilies were in full bloom along a stretch of the Cahaba River near West Blocton, southwest of Birmingham. The flowers emerge from the river’s rocky shoals around Mother’s Day every year – a testament to Alabama’s rich biodiversity and a draw for visitors who want a glimpse of the iconic lilies.
“This is my favorite time of year,” said Reed Butler, a lower watershed specialist with the Cahaba River Coalition. “I'm smiling saying this … this is like my Christmastime. It is one of the most magical places in Alabama to me.”
As spring comes to a close with the arrival of the summer solstice on Sunday, the Cahaba lilies will also shed their final blooms after a month-long showcase along the river.
This year’s show was different.
Though recent rain has made for a soggy end to spring, most of the season has been plagued with drought. Yet scientists said the dry conditions actually helped the Cahaba lilies thrive — looking the best they have in more than a decade.
Watch your step
Slippery rocks can make for a cumbersome walk to the lilies, beckoning people to brave the shoals for an up-close look at their revered beauty.
“You can expect some slick rocks,” Butler said. “I slipped and fell a few times today, which is a given for this time of year. Try to step on sand and algae and do the ‘shoal shuffle!’”
Unlike the humans stepping delicately through the shallow water, the lilies nestled comfortably among the rocks — even in the low water levels from the recent drought.
“They're really tall this year,” said Sarah Tash, a researcher at Auburn University. “That's usually a plant response to water level.”
Tash studies how extreme weather impacts lily populations in Southeast watersheds.
“They're just uniquely suited to a shallow, incredibly swift, water-moving environment,” Tash said.
In years past, wetter springs could drown the lilies, which often struggled to surface above the high water. But this year?
“I gotta say, lilies were in perfect condition,” said Larry Davenport, a retired Samford University biology professor. “They were absolutely stunning this year. “
Unique structure
Despite the ongoing drought, the lilies defied the harsh conditions thanks to their unique structure.
“The leaves of the plants are succulent. When you squeeze them, you can feel the juice inside,” Davenport said. “What that does, of course, is it allows them to survive in almost desert conditions, which is what's gonna happen when you have plants living on rocks, essentially, in the middle of a stream in full sunlight. Might as well be a desert.”
Beneath the surface, the lilies grow wedged between the shoals with the rocks offering further anchors of support.
“I know that they're incredibly capable of surviving and blooming in drought levels,” Tash said. “Their root systems are adventitious roots. So they look like little wrinkly slinkies. And so, they're able to reach out or contract in response to their environment. So, they're able to access water underneath the sediment and the areas of their habitat, even in times of really low drought.”
But even in years with heavier rainfall, the lilies can persevere.
“There's roughly 4 to 6 flowers per stem,” Tash said. “And they utilize a one-bloom-at-a-time strategy in case the plant is flooded for a period of time. It hasn't lost all capability to be pollinated.”
Hargrove Shoals along the Cahaba River hosts an enticing breeding ground for the lilies. Although they flourish in this part of Alabama, there are similar populations in parts of Georgia and South Carolina along what’s known as the fall line.
“The fall line is this junction between the tough interior rocks and the soft coastal plain formations, which means that's where you find falls,” Davenport said. “[The lilies] are dependent upon these rocky shoal situations because what happens is their bulbs and their seeds get wedged in tight in those rocky formations and cannot be dislodged.”
Though the lilies stood tall and mighty this year, Davenport urged visitors to still tread lightly on their visits to the Cahaba.
“Don't dig them up. They make lousy houseplants,“ Davenport said. “If you put them in a pot, they'll be miserable and die.”
So enjoy the lilies where they are, Davenport said. And though the lilies stop blooming after Father’s Day weekend, they’ll return again next May.
