Practical
Plants

Lilium philadelphicum

Wood Lily

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Liliaceae
Genus
Lilium
Height
1 m
Spread
0.25 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

Bulb - cooked[10]. Used as a potato substitute[13][16][2][5]. Starchy and slightly sweet[17]. Rather small, it is up to 25mm in diameter[9].

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.

A tea made from the bulbs is used in the treatment of stomach complaints, coughs, fevers etc[8][10]. The crushed bulb is applied externally as a poultice to swellings, bruises, wounds, sores etc[8][10]. A poultice of the flowers is applied to spider bites[8].

Product or use
Poultice
Product or use
Stomachic

Environment

Range
Eastern N. America - Maine to Ontario, south to North Carolina and West Virginia.
Habitat
Heavy, often somewhat alkaline, meadows to montane forest[15]. Usually found in drier woodlands on acid sandy loams[12][14].
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

Seed - immediate epigeal germination[3]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks[6]. One report suggests that the seed might have delayed hypogeal germination[6]. In this case it would be best to sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame because stored seed would require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification before the seed would germinate[6]. 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[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].

Cultivation

Requires a well-drained humus-rich soil and a cool moist root run[1][11][4]. Likes a warm position with moisture in summer[14]. Stoloniferous[7]. Plants are rather difficult to establish[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[7]. A very ornamental plant[1], it requires protection from rain in winter[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[7].

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

  5. Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.

    ↩

  6. RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.

    ↩1↩2↩3

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

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  8. 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↩3

  9. 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

    ↩

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

    ↩1↩2↩3

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

    ↩

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

    ↩

  13. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  14. Fox. D. Growing Lilies. Croom Helm 1985-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  15. Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955-00-00

    ↩

  16. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  17. Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967-00-00 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9

    ↩

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