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Common Name:

General Information

Lilium species is a Bulb up to 1.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

A group of garden hybrids of uncertain parentage.

Habitat

Not known in the wild.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[].
Protect against slugs in early spring, if the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour[].
Bulbs are best planted out into their permanent positions in early to mid-autumn in cool temperate zones and up to late autumn in warmer areas, this allows them to become established before new top growth commences in spring[].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes. The flavour can range from very mild to very bitter[]. The bulb is made up of many imbricate, fleshy scales, without a tunic[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. The seed should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks[]. 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[].
Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[].
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[].