Thanks for the help esh_ga and floral_uk. I went back to see if I could get some better photos (originals a little overexposed) and all the plants were finished blooming already; I would guess they only bloomed for about a week at most, I guess I will have to wait till next year to get more pix.

Yikes. Well, that would explain why it is taking over the yard so quickly. Thanks!

This is a very charming plant and the variety of butterflies that appeared to visit it were amazing. I am smack in the center of the usa, near Kansas City, Mo. We have three wet areas, almost bogs, in the wetland flood plain area of the creek that runs through our parks. This year, disgusted with the standing stagnant water I decided to try and plant the spots with "rain garden" shrubs. Actually the only plants I introduced were native Button bush shrub seedlings and in one wet area--transplanted horsetail rushes from another area in the park. The area is often flooded with flash flood waters 1-7' deep. Mid summer I noticed Moneywort - Lysimachia nummularia had appeared, washed in on it's own. This was quickly joined by a dainty ground cover of 10-12" grass that appeared to be--and was in fact-Scirpus cernuus / Fiber-optic grass/Salt Marsh Bullrush which I had seen in garden centers and knew to be Non native. In fact it is a tropical zone plant. This was followed by a strange plant that had me totally stumped. It was also small and dainty and had an unusual flower. I suspected that it was possibly a garden pond escapee like the fiber optic grass because I had never seen anything like it. The Missouri Conservation department finally gave me the name "frog fruit" as a possibility. Searching this online tonight quickly nailed this charming mystery plant because of the flower. Online photos also solved the butterfly mystery. An assortment were visiting this wet area all summer and many were ones I had never seen before. I now recognized several of the butterflies shown on frog fruit. Several places mentioned their attraction as both a nectar and larval food source. One source said, "This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds" Possibly they meant hummingbirds because we also had an unusual number of them around these rain gardens. They seemed torn between the shaded native Jewel weed along the woodland edge and the sunny patch of rain garden. I hope this combination that Mother Nature delivered to us reappears again next summer. The largest area had only Buttonbush, moneywort, fiber optic rush and frog fruit. Because of the plant heights this seemed a perfect combination. This was full sun from 10am-5pm but never dried up all summer. The water averaged 1/2" to 2" deep. From this combination we had something blooming, even though they were all tiny, all summer. Is this global warming? So far I have seen nothing harmful or invasive with these odd little plants since they are filling a seemingly empty niche and grow well with other small plants.

giboosi_alttara, My first thought, with the diagonal cuts, was rabbits ... but the height threw me. These lily plants are exceptionally large and the flower stems exceptionally tall -- literally to my shoulder in some cases, and certainly at least 3.5-4 feet in height. Is it possible that rabbits -- which we've never seen, actually, despite having a meadow adjoining the property (though we also have plenty of hawks and coyotes so that might explain the noticeable absence of rabbits?) -- could pull down a stem and snip it off? (Otherwise, they'd need to do more than stand on their hind legs .. they'd need a stepladder!) And I wonder the same thing about rabbits -- why bite these off and then just leave them on the ground? Not a blossom or bud is missing/munched...? I had concluded deer in part because of the height at which these are being "nipped" off ... but deer would eat the flowers, wouldn't they? One morning there were no less than five such 4-6" stems on the ground around one lily clump, looking for all the world as if some crazed gardener and gone through and "deadheaded" them, then strewn them around the base of the plant! Each with buds, faded blooms, and in several cases, partially opened NEW blooms. Why would anything -- including rabbits -- be biting these off if they weren't planning to eat them? (And if they didn't like the taste, wouldn't you think they'd figure that out after the first few?...this has happened for days on end. I have an continuous supply of truncated lily stems in a vase by the sink! (Needless to say, I'd RATHER have the stems still on the plants! ;) I would try more of my homemade habanero pepper spray (I put peppers and some water into a blender, then strain through cheesecloth or coffee filter and fill a hand spray bottle -- worked like a charm early in the season on foliage to keep deer away) but I'm worried about discouraging beneficial butterflies and bees now that things are in bloom...?