This lily type plant comes up in the lawn every year for the past 15 years. The flower usually have 8 petals and the foliage smells a little like garlic. I dies back in a few weeks before the lawn get going. I seems to be slowly spreading, but it is really not much of a nuisance yet and is quite beautiful in large numbers. Columbia, SC
Hi Harper,
this is called the spring starflower, Ipheion uniflorum, and it is a garden flower originally native to Argentina. It sometimes comes up in lawns after being grown in gardens many years ago. It is not native, but to me, anyway, it is a rather desirable plant. It is distantly related to both onions and amaryllis.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Hill, Botanist, SCNPS