''Lilium chalcedonicum'' is a European species of Liriotypus

lily ''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. M ...

, native to

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Classification

The species was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in 1753 on Mount Chalcedon in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

, under its current name. Ιn addition to the genus of the same name, the varieties ''Lilium chalcedonicum'' var. ''maculatum'', which bore denser flowers, and ''Lilium chalcedonicum'' var. ''heldreichii'', which always produces only one flower, with base leaves wider and upper leaves very small, were named.Feldmaier & McRae, 1982 However, these two varieties are no longer recognized.Arne Strid, 2007 This species hybridizes with ''Lilium candidum'', creating ''Lilium x testaceum.''

Characteristics & Appearance

It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

, herbaceous plant, which can usually reach a height of 35-70 centimeters, but in some cases it can reach up to 1.5 meters. The bulb is yellowish-white and wide. The stem is green and covered entirely by lanceolate-serrate leaves, slightly twisted. The lower leaves are horizontal, 5–15 cm long and 4–8 cm wide. The upper ones are smaller, rather upright, and cover the stem.Σφήκας, σ. 77-78 The flowers are red, up to 10 cm long, borne all together at the top of the stem. They can be from 1 to 6 in number, but as many as 12 when cultivated in good, humus-rich soil in somewhat damp, shady places. They face downwards and the petals turn backwards. They bear a heavy scent, with orange pollen and

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

that protrude from the

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla ( petals) or tepals when ...

. The flowers appear rather late, usually July.

Distribution & Habitat

It is native to the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

but it can also be found in Tuscany. In the Balkans, it spreads from southern Albania across much of mainland Greece, as well as on the islands of the Ionian sea and

Aegean sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

. It thrives in cool areas, mainly in glades of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

and

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

forests of mountainous regions as well as meadows on

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

, rocky soils at an altitude of 600–1700 meters. This species highly resents being moved, probably the main reason it is rarely seen in commerce.

Culture & Symbolism

Its earliest known depiction is in a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

fresco dating back 3,500 years to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

, discovered on the Aegean coast on the island of Santorini, which was buried by a volcano with the Minoan eruption. Because of its striking appearance it has been cultivated since at least the 16th century. It was supposedly introduced to Europe by Master Harbran from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1597. Due to its resemblance to a

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...

, it is sometimes referred to as ''the Turk,'' however it should not be confused with the similar North American lily ''

Lilium superbum ''Lilium superbum'' is a species of true lily native to the eastern and central regions of North America. Common names include Turk's cap lily, turban lily, swamp lily, lily royal, or American tiger lily. The native range of the species extends ...

.'' In the Victorian

language of flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

, lilies portray love, ardor, and affection for your loved ones, while orange lilies stand for happiness, love, and warmth.

References

Bibliography

* Σφήκας Γιώργος, ''Αγριολούλουδα της Ελλάδας'', EFSTATHIADIS GROUP A.E., Αθήνα, 1999. ISBN 960-226-062-9 * Arne Strid: ''The lilies of Greece.'' In: Caroline Boisset (Hrsg.): ''Lilies And Related Plants'', 2007, S. 18–26, ISBN 978-1-902896-84-7 * Carl Feldmaier, Judith McRae: ''Lilien.'' Ulmer, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-8001-6121-4 * {{Taxonbar, from=Q262470 chalcedonicum Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus