Common Name:

General Information

Lilium amabile is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem around 40 - 80cm tal[]l
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - northeast China (Liaoning), Korea

Habitat

Limestone formations[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	0.75 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium amabile is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -25°c when fully dormant[].
Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[]. Plants are probably lime tolerant[, , ]. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Does well in limy soils and also succeeds in acid soils. Prefers a sunny position.
A very ornamental[] and easily grown plant[]. The flowers are malodorous according to one report[], whilst another says that they have a powerful oriental perfume[].
Stem rooting, it is best planted 15cm deep in semi-shade[, ].
The plant should be protected 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[, ]. The ovoid-globose bulb is around 25 - 30mm in diameter[]. It can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes. The bulb is made up of many imbricate, fleshy scales, without a tunic[].

Flower buds - cooked[, , ].

Young shoots - cooked[, , ]. Eating the young shoots will prevent the bulb from growing any more in that year with a consequent loss of vigour or even the death of the plant, so is not to be recommended[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - immediate epigeal germination[]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. 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[].