Practical
Plants

Lilium superbum

Swamp Lily

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Liliaceae
Genus
Lilium
Height
2.4 m
Spread
0.3 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

Bulb - cooked[7][15][2]. A starchy and slightly sweet taste[16]. Fleshy. Used like potatoes[16] or as a thickener in soups[13][6]. The bulb is up to 5cm in diameter[9].

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Ontario, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri.
Habitat
Peaty meadows, swales, wet sands and swampy woods[12].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 3+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

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

Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[8]. Requires a lime-free soil[10][11][14][4]. Does well in a woodland, succeeding in sun or shade[10][11][4]. Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 12 - 20cm deep on a few stones[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[8]. A very ornamental plant[1], it flowers in 4 years from seed[4]. Hybridizes with L. canadense but does not seem to cross with other species[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

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

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

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

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  5. RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.

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  6. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

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  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

  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

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  10. Knight. F. P. Plants for Shade. Royal Horticultural Society. 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-900629-78-9

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

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

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

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

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

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  16. 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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