''Lilium regale'', called the regal lily, royal lily, king's lily, or, in New Zealand, the Christmas lily, is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, with trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to the western part of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Province in southwestern China,Flora of China, Vol. 24 Page 147 岷江百合 min jiang bai he ''Lilium regale'' E. H. Wilson, Gard. Chron. ser. 3, 53: 416. 1913.
/ref> and cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. It was introduced to England in 1903 by

Ernest Henry Wilson Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson (15 February 1876 – 15 October 1930), better known as E. H. Wilson, was a notable British plant collector and explorer who introduced a large range of about 2000 Asian plant species to the Western culture, West; ...

.Wilson, Ernest Henry. 1913. ''Lilium regale.'' Gardeners' Chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. ser. 3 53: 416
description and commentary in English; photograph of flowering specimen

Description

''Lilium regale'' is a long-lived, stem-rooting

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

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 wide ...

growing from an underground

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

. The leaves are borne at irregular intervals on the stem. Plants grow up to 2 meters high, though 1.2 to 1.5 meters is more common in the garden. The flowers are 14 cm long, funnel or trumpet shaped, white with yellow throat, flushed purple outside.

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 ...

are prominent. The flowers are strongly fragrant, especially at night.

Cultivation

The

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

has given ''Lilium regale'' its

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It is among the easiest lilies to grow in most temperate climate gardens. It tolerates most soils, except ones prone to waterlogging. It may naturalise in suitable conditions. It can also be grown in large containers. The bulbs themselves are very hardy, but the shoots appear early in the season and may be damaged by frost. Plants can be raised from seed, and often flower in their second year. A serious pest is the

Scarlet Lily Beetle The scarlet lily beetle, red lily beetle, or lily leaf beetle (''Lilioceris lilii''), is a leaf beetle that eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. It lays its eggs most often ...

, the larvae of which may cause complete defoliation. Stems may require staking to support the large blooms.Royal Horticultural Society, ''Lilium regale'' (IXb/a) king's lily
/ref> There is a pure white form 'Album' which is also widely cultivated. Deer also frequently eat lily plants and fences as high as 8 feet may be needed to deter them.

Toxicity

Cats

''Lilium regale'', like many in the genus, is toxic to cats, with ingestion causing potentially fatal

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. Households that are visited by cats are advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and thus become dusted with pollen, which is then consumed during cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention. Rapid treatment with

activated charcoal "Activated" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd. It was released on 22 July 2016 through Vixen Records. The song was made available to stream exclusively on ''Rolling Stone'' a day before to release (on 21 July 2016). Background In an interv ...

and/or induced

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...

can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed, and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival.Lily Poisoning in Cats
Pet MD.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1639505 regale Flora of Sichuan Garden plants Plants described in 1905