Tiger Lily, Devil Lily
Lilium lancifolium

Family: Liliaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: Orange. Main Bloom Time: Early fall, Late summer. Form: Upright or erect.

Lilium lancifolium is a BULB growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 1.2

Where it is found

Long cultivated and not known in a truly wild situation, though it can naturalise in woodlands.. Possibly of hybrid origin involving L. leichtlinii and L. maculatum.

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Bulb - cooked. Somewhat bitterish. Fairly pleasant, when properly cooked they are highly esteemed as a vegetable and somewhat resemble parsnips in flavour. The bulbs are up to 8cm in diameter. They are a good source of starch. The bulb can be dried and ground into powder. Flowers - raw or cooked. Used fresh or dried in salads, soups, rice dishes etc.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The bulb is antiinflammatory, diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient and expectorant. They are used to relieve heart diseases, pain in the cardiac region and angina pectoris. They are used in Korea to treat coughs, sore throats, palpitations and boils. The flowers are carminative. They are used to strengthen the eye-lid muscles and are commended in the treatment of myopic astigmatism. A tincture made from the flowering plant, harvested when in full flower, is used in the treatment of uterine neuralgia, congestion, irritation and the nausea of pregnancy. It relieves the bearing-down pain accompanying uterine prolapse and is an important remedy in ovarian neuralgia.

Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.

Cardiac: Used in the treatment of heart problems.

Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Emmenagogue: Promotes or increases the menstrual flow. In early stages of pregnancy it can induce an abortion.

Emollient: Softens the skin, causing warmth and moisture.

Expectorant: Clears phlegm from the chest by inducing coughing.

Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.

Women's complaints: A very vague title, it deals with a miscellany of problems peculiar to the female sex.

Other

Rating:

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Container, Foundation, Massing, Seashore. Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun. Prefers a lime-free soil according to some reports, whilst one says that it succeeds in a calcareous soil and another that it succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a deep acid loam. Likes a sunny position according to one report whilst others say that it is best grown in open woodland or amongst dwarf evergreen shrubs. Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 15 - 20cm 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. Plants grow well in northern gardens in Britain. A sterile triploid species, probably of hybrid origin. A very ornamental plant, it is cultivated for its edible bulb in Japan. This species tolerates virus infections, but it can transmit them to other species in this genus and so is best grown away from any of the other species. 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. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 1. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread. The root pattern is a bulb.

Propagating it: Seed - this species is completely sterile and does not produce seed. 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. Bulbils - gather in late summer when they start to fall off the stems and pot up immediately. Grow on in a greenhouse until large enough to go outside. Plants can flower in three years from bulbils.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;

Habit: Bulb

Hardiness: 4-8

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

The pollen is said to be poisonous, producing vomiting, drowsiness and purging.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

L. tigrinum.