Lilium maculatum
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
Bulb - cooked[5][7]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Flower buds - cooked[1].
- Plant part
- Flowers
- Plant part
- Root
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - Japan.
- Habitat
- Rocks along sea-shores[6].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 4+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- high wind
- Wind
- Yes
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - immediate epigeal germination[2]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks[3]. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people prefer to 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[4]. 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[4].
Cultivation
Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[4]. This name possibly covers a group of hybrids involving L. dauricum x L. concolor[4]. Widely cultivated for ornament, there are many named varieties[6][4]. 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[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[4].
References
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982-00-00
RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00
Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202