Flower profile

Blue dicks

Dipterostemon capitatus

Blue dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus) is a flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family, blooming mostly February–May across the U.S.

Blue dicks is a flowering plant. It's on our flower lists for 2 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in February–May.

–states where USDA records it

2Bloomipedia state lists include it

44,596U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Arizona, California

Quick look

Dipterostemon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. Its only species is Dipterostemon capitatus, synonym Dichelostemma capitatum, known by the common names blue dicks, wild hyacinth, purplehead and brodiaea, native to the Western United States and northwest Mexico.
From Wikipedia's article Dipterostemon, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Asparagaceae family. ^iNaturalist
In California, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in February–May. ^iNaturalist
In Arizona, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in February–April. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 39,216 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #4 among the 178 flowers on our California list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 4,476 research-grade sightings of it in Arizona, ranking #20 among the 132 flowers on our Arizona list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (15,216 records)

Bloom time in the 2 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
California	–	February–May	39,216
Arizona	–	February–April	4,476

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe: Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Arizona: Not listed Not on Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025). ^{AAC R3-3 App. A}

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant)) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.