The Mediterranean beach lily, a genus of plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, is able to survive several months of intense sun and no rain, gathering the only moisture with which to survive, from morning dew alone.



 They are exquisitely fragrant lilies, and their presence along sandy paths to beaches is a testament to the will of nature to prevail in times of climatic stress. Summers in the Med are almost always without rain. The rare shower or torrential downpour lasting only a few minutes quickly passes, and within a short time it is once again hot and sunny. Not enough moisture to grow crops without irrigation, let alone provide sustenance for these lillies. Yet they thrive, from dew alone.

It is a shame, if not a crime, to pick them, for they will not last more than a day in water, although their fragrance will quickly fill a room. They also will not transplant easily to a garden as they only thrive in salty sand along dunes near water's edge. They must be acknowledged for what they are in their own setting and left to be admired.


I have photographed them singularly, in clumps and in their natural setting in order to appreciate them to the fullest extent. From a distance they appear as a burst of frothy, foamy lather emerging from the sand. Up close their 6 pointed star outer petals and 12 pointed inner petals are amazingly beautiful and delicate.

The photo was minimally enhanced for clarity in Photoshop in order to bring out detail and give a painterly look.