Queen of American lilies is the real Washington Lily (Lilium washingtonianum), which grows in comparatively dry stands of brush in the arid Transition Zone from the Columbia River southward through the Sierras. Growing three to six feet tall, it bears clusters of a half-dozen or dozen very fragrant flowers that are white upon opening but turn first to pink, then to rose with age.

On the sunny manzanita-covered slopes of Copeland Ridge west of the lake at an elevation of 5500 feet, these lilies presented a superb display this year. Though frequently peering high above the red-boughed manzanita, some lower plants could be discovered by their sweet scent before they were detected by the eye.