Meadow Lily
Lilium canadense flavum
Family: Liliaceae
What it is like
Lilium canadense flavum is a BULB growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 1.5
Where it is found
Meadows, low thickets and wet woods.
Eastern N. America.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Bulb - cooked. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The taste is rather like raw green corn on the ear. The bulb can be dried, ground into a powder and used in making bread etc. A famine food, only used when better foods are not available. The bulb is up to 5cm in diameter.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun. Dislikes lime. Does well in open woodland but rapidly degenerates in deep shade. The dormant bulbs are very hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -10°c. A very ornamental plant, unlike the main species this form is easily grown in Britain. Polymorphic, there are a number of sub-species. Closely related to L. michiganense. Hybridizes in nature with L. superbum but does not hybridize readily in the garden. Stoloniferous, the bulbs should be planted 15 - 25cm deep. Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn. Never plant out in the spring. The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour.
Propagating it: Seed - delayed hypogeal germination. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant. Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately. Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;
Habit: Bulb
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist