Practical
Plants

Lilium canadense

Meadow Lily

a member of the Lilium genus in the family Liliaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Liliaceae
Genus
Lilium
Height
1.5 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Bulb - cooked[7][2][6]. 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[9]. The bulb can be dried, ground into a powder and used in making bread etc[13]. A famine food, only used when better foods are not available[13]. The bulb is up to 5cm in diameter[12].

Plant part
Root

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A poultice made from the bulbs is applied to snakebites[11]. A tea made from the bulbs is stomachic and is also used in the treatment of irregular menses and dysentery[11][13].

Product or use
Poultice
Product or use
Stomachic

Environment

Range
Eastern N. America - Quebec to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia.
Habitat
Meadows, low thickets and wet woods amongst ferns[15][16].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 5+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - delayed hypogeal germination[3]. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring[4]. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long[5]. 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[K]. Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[8]. 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[8].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[8]. Dislikes lime[14]. The sub-species L. canadense editorum is said to be lime tolerant[5][8]. Does well in open woodland[1][4]. Succeeds in partial shade but rapidly degenerates when grown in deep shade[4]. The dormant bulbs are very hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -10°c[10]. Stoloniferous[8], the bulbs should be planted 15 - 25cm deep[4]. Only replant in autumn, never in spring[4]. A very ornamental[1] and easily grown plant[4]. The species is not easy to grow in Europe[16]. Polymorphic, there are a number of sub-species[4]. It hybridizes in nature with L. superbum but it does not hybridize readily in the garden[4]. Closely allied to L. michiganense[4]. 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[8].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. ? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982-00-00

    ↩

  4. Woodcock. and Coutts. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life 1935-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9

  5. RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.

    ↩1↩2

  6. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  7. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

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  8. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

  9. Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993-00-00 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6

    ↩

  10. Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994-00-00 ISBN 1352-4186

    ↩

  11. Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0395467225

    ↩1↩2

  12. Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5

    ↩

  13. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2↩3

  14. Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00

    ↩

  15. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

  16. Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-330-30253-1

    ↩1↩2

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