Dear Peter, Zigadenus fremontii grows where I live in Northern California. A short version has been blooming for four or five weeks now. Every year I see it when I am hiking and tell my friends who live nearby to save seed for me, but then forget to remind them. And yes it is found growing in damp coastal grass land. The populations growing wild on undeveloped land near where I live are much later (May to June) and significantly bigger. The Jepson manual treatment of Zigadenus didn't recognized the lower growing variety, but it certainly is quite different in size and blooms at a different time of the year in an area where both grow. Diane asked earlier about the spelling. I have books that have spelled it Zygadenus, but most of mine spell it Zigadenus. I looked to see if there was anything written about the different spellings and couldn't find it so I assume whoever called it Zigadenus named it first. This genus has species on both sides of the United States and in the northwest and southwest which is very interesting. I don't know if people grow any of the east coast varieties. I have a number of Zigadenus fremontii in my garden I grew from seed of near by plants. They put on an attractive display each year. It took me much longer to get them to bloom from seed that Peter reports, but I think if I were to grow them again I could make them bloom faster. The earlier ones are welcome signs of spring. Mary Sue