Lily Bell Tindley

''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the northern hemisphere and their range is temperate climates and extends into the subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common names, but do not belong to the same genus and are therefore not true lilies.

Description

Lilies are tall perennials ranging in height from . They form naked or tunicless scaly underground bulbs which are their organs of perennation. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, on which numerous small bulbs are found. Some species develop stolons. Most bulbs are buried deep in the ground, but a few species form bulbs near the soil surface. Many species form stem-roots. With these, the bulb grows naturally at some depth in the soil, and each year the new stem puts out adventitious roots above the bulb as it emerges from the soil. These roots are in addition to the basal roots that develop at the base of the bulb, a number of species also produce contractile roots that move the bulbs deeper into the soil.

The flowers are large, often fragrant, and come in a wide range of colors including whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and purples. Markings include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring- or summer-flowering. Flowers are borne in racemes or umbels at the tip of the stem, with six tepals spreading or reflexed, to give flowers varying from funnel shape to a "Turk's cap". The tepals are free from each other, and bear a nectary at the base of each flower. The ovary is 'superior', borne above the point of attachment of the anthers. The fruit is a three-celled capsule.European Garden Flora; Volume 1

Seeds ripen in late summer. They exhibit varying and sometimes complex germination patterns, many adapted to cool temperate climates.

Most cool temperate species are deciduous and dormant in winter in their native environment. But a few species native to areas with hot summers and mild winters (''Lilium candidum'', ''Lilium catesbaei'', ''Lilium longiflorum'') lose their leaves and enter a short dormant period in summer or autumn, sprout from autumn to winter, forming dwarf stems bearing a basal rosette of leaves until, after they have received sufficient chilling, the stem begins to elongate in warming weather.

The basic chromosome number is twelve (n=12).

Taxonomy

Taxonomical division in sections follows the classical division of Comber, species acceptance follows the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, the taxonomy of section ''Pseudolirium'' is from the Flora of North America, the taxonomy of Section ''Liriotypus'' is given in consideration of Resetnik et al. 2007, the taxonomy of Chinese species (various sections) follows the Flora of China and the taxonomy of Section ''Sinomartagon'' follows Nishikawa et al. as does the taxonomy of Section ''Archelirion''.

The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, , considers '' Nomocharis'' a separate genus in its own right, however some authorities consider ''Nomocharis'' to be embedded within ''Lilium'', rather than treat it as a separate genus. The Sinomartagon are divided in 3 paraphyletic groups, while the Leucolirion are divided in 2 paraphyletic groups.

There are seven sections:
*''Martagon''
*''Pseudolirium''
*''Liriotypus''
*''Archelirion''
*''Sinomartagon''
*''Leucolirion''
*''Daurolirion''

There are 111 species counted in this genus. For a full list of accepted species with their native ranges, see List of Lilium species.

Some species formerly included within this genus have now been placed in other genera. These genera include ''Cardiocrinum'', ''Notholirion'', '' Nomocharis'' and ''Fritillaria''.

Etymology

The botanic name ''Lilium'' is the Latin form and is a Linnaean name. The Latin name is derived from the Greek word ''leírion'', generally assumed to refer to true, white lilies as exemplified by the Madonna lily. The word was borrowed from Coptic (dial. Fayyumic) , from standard , from Demotic , from Egyptian "flower". Meillet maintains that both the Egyptian and the Greek word are possible loans from an extinct, substratum language of the Eastern Mediterranean. grc, κρῖνον, label=, , was used by the Greeks, albeit for lilies of any color.

The term "lily" has in the past been applied to numerous flowering plants, often with only superficial resemblance to the true lily, including water lily, fire lily, lily of the Nile, calla lily, trout lily, kaffir lily, cobra lily, lily of the valley, daylily, ginger lily