Lilium lancifolium
Tiger Lily
a member of the Lilium genus in the family Liliaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The pollen is said to be poisonous, producing vomiting, drowsiness and purging[12].
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Bulb - cooked[6][12][13][14]. Somewhat bitterish[2]. Fairly pleasant, when properly cooked they are highly esteemed as a vegetable and somewhat resemble parsnips in flavour[5]. The bulbs are up to 8cm in diameter[9]. They are a good source of starch[2][5]. The bulb can be dried and ground into powder. Flowers - raw or cooked. Used fresh or dried in salads, soups, rice dishes etc[5].
- Plant part
- Flowers
- 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.
The bulb is antiinflammatory, diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient and expectorant[8][10]. They are used to relieve heart diseases, pain in the cardiac region and angina pectoris[8]. They are used in Korea to treat coughs, sore throats, palpitations and boils[10]. The flowers are carminative[8]. They are used to strengthen the eye-lid muscles and are commended in the treatment of myopic astigmatism[8]. 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[12]. It relieves the bearing-down pain accompanying uterine prolapse and is an important remedy in ovarian neuralgia[12].
- Product or use
- Cardiac
- Product or use
- Carminative
- Product or use
- Diuretic
- Product or use
- Emmenagogue
- Product or use
- Emollient
- Product or use
- Expectorant
- Product or use
- Ophthalmic
- Product or use
- Women's complaints
- Product or use
- Antiinflammatory
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
- Habitat
- Long cultivated and not known in a truly wild situation, though it can naturalise in woodlands[10].. Possibly of hybrid origin involving L. leichtlinii and L. maculatum[15].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 4+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
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[7]. 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[7]. 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[7]. Plants can flower in three years from bulbils[12].
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[7]. Prefers a lime-free soil according to some reports[11][14][3], whilst one says that it succeeds in a calcareous soil[1] and another that it succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1][13]. Prefers a deep acid loam[14]. Likes a sunny position according to one report[3] whilst others say that it is best grown in open woodland or amongst dwarf evergreen shrubs[1]. Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 15 - 20cm deep[3]. 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[7]. Plants grow well in northern gardens in Britain[15]. A sterile triploid species, probably of hybrid origin[15]. A very ornamental plant[1], it is cultivated for its edible bulb in Japan[6][13][4]. 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[14]. 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[7].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Woodcock. and Coutts. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life 1935-00-00
RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00
Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea World Health Organisation, Manila 1998-00-00 ISBN 92 9061 120 0
Knight. F. P. Plants for Shade. Royal Horticultural Society. 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-900629-78-9
Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00
Fox. D. Growing Lilies. Croom Helm 1985-00-00
Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-330-30253-1