Despite the common name, Zantedeschia aethiopica is no lily at all. The genus honors Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi, and aethiopica simply nods to its South African origins, where it grows naturally along stream banks, pond margins, and marshy ground. In those conditions it behaves as an evergreen, its broad arrow-shaped leaves persisting through the year wherever rainfall and mild temperatures prevail. In cooler or drier climates the foliage dies back, and the plant overwinterns in its rhizome. The flowers, pure white spathes surrounding a cream-yellow spadix, appear from June through July and are superb for cutting.

In the garden it grows 2 to 3 feet tall and prefers rich, moisture-retentive soil with plenty of organic matter. It can tolerate up to 12 inches of standing water, which makes it genuinely useful at the margins of a wildlife pond or in a rain garden where few ornamentals would manage. Partial shade is preferred in hot climates, where full sun risks scorching both leaf and flower. Hardy to zone 8, it can push into zone 7 with protective mulching, but gardeners in colder regions should plan to overwinter the rhizomes indoors. Divide clumps in early spring or late summer, letting cut surfaces callus for a day before replanting.