Yellow day lily, Lemon daylily
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus

Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae

What it is like

A perennial plant. It grows 75-90 cm high. It forms rhizomes and spreads. The roots are slightly fleshy and rope like and sometimes with a swollen tuber. It loses its leaves in winter. The leaves are narrow. They are 20-70 cm long by 0.3-1.2 cm wide. They taper to the tip. The flowering stalk is branched. The flowers are fine shaped and lemon-yellow. They have a sweet scent. The fruit is a capsule. It is oval and 2.4 cm long by 1.2 cm wide.

There are about 15 Hemerocallis species. Also put in the family Hemerocallidaceae.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is frost hardy. In China it grows in forests thickets and grasslands and on slopes along valleys between 100-2000 m altitude. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Alps, Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Egypt, Europe, Fiji, Hawaii, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mediterranean, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Africa, North America, Pacific, Russia, SE Asia, Siberia, Slovenia, USA

How it is used for food

The flowers are steamed and then dried and used as a traditional food in China. The flowers are flower buds are dipped in egg, milk, flour and seasoning and browned like fritters. The fleshy roots are boiled in salt water and eaten. The dried flowers are used to flavour soups, stir-fried dishes and noodle dishes. Young shoots are eaten raw, or cooked like asparagus.

It is a cultivated food plant.

Edible parts

Flowers, leaves, root, buds

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Bei huang hua cai, Lemon lily, Lili kuning, Northern yellow flower vegetable, Rumena maslenica, Tall yellow daylily, Wasure-gusa

Synonyms

Hemerocallis flava (L.) L.; Hemerocallis flava var. aurantiaca A. I. Baranov & Skvortsov; Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var. flava L.; Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var. nana L.; Hemerocallis lutea Gaertn.;