Description:
The showy and large flowered plants of the genus Lilium are the true lily plants. They are important as garden plants, and in literature.
They are placed in the lily family, the Liliaceae. A few species formerly included within this genus have now been placed in other genera. These include Cardiocrinum and Nomocharis.
Lilies are usually erect leafy stemmed herbs. The majority of species form naked or tunic-less scaly underground bulbs from which they overwinter. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, on which numerous small bulbs are found. Some species develop stolons. A few species form bulbs at or near the soil surface.
Many species form stem-roots. With these, the bulb grows naturally at some depth in the soil, and each year the new stem puts out adventitious roots above the bulb as it emerges from the soil. These roots are in addition to the basal roots that develop at the base of the bulb.
The large showy flowers are six-petalled, often fragrant, and come in a range of colours ranging through whites, yellows and reds, sometimes with other markings.
The plants are summer flowering. Most species are deciduous, but Lilium candidum bears a basal rosette of leaves for much of the year. Flowers are formed at the top of a single erect stem, with leaves being borne at intervals up the stem.
Lilies are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including The Dun-bar.