Although this species has at times been treated as comprising a number of subspecies, field observations do not strongly support this view. The various characteristics proposed on which to base segregation, such as flower colour and leaf shape, have been shown to vary widely within single populations, and the distributions of the proposed varieties overlap widely. In addition, morphological evidence also offers little support. In short, the increasingly refined attempts of the last 60 years to suitably characterize variation in this species suggest that is quite difficult or impossible to do so[].

Common Name: Meadow Lily

General Information

Lilium canadense is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem that can be up to 180cm tall[].
The plant iss harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Ontario to Quebec and Nova Scotia, south to Georgia and Alabama

Habitat

Wet meadows, moist rich woods especially edges, streamsides and river alluvia, bogs, marshes, swamps, along wet roadsides and railroads; from sea level to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.50 m
Pollinators	Humming birds, Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium canadense 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[]. Dislikes lime[]. The sub-species L. canadense editorum is said to be lime tolerant[, ]. Does well in open woodland[, ]. Succeeds in partial shade but rapidly degenerates when grown in deep shade[].
The dormant bulbs are very hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -10°c[].
Stoloniferous[], the bulbs should be planted 15 - 25cm deep[]. Only replant in autumn, never in spring[].
A very ornamental[] and easily grown plant[]. The species is not easy to grow in Europe[]. Polymorphic, there are a number of sub-species[]. It hybridizes in nature with L. superbum but it does not hybridize readily in the garden[].
Closely allied to L. michiganense[].
The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour[].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked[, , ]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The taste is rather like raw green corn on the ear[]. The bulb can be dried, ground into a powder and used in making bread etc[]. A famine food, only used when better foods are not available[]. The yellowish bulb is 18 - 45mm x 42 - 117mm[, ]. The bulb is made up of many imbricate, fleshy scales, without a tunic[].

Medicinal

A poultice made from the bulbs is applied to snakebites[].
A tea made from the bulbs is stomachic and is also used in the treatment of irregular menses, rheumatism and dysentery[, , ].

A decoction of the boiled rhizomes was used in the past to fatten children[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - delayed hypogeal germination[]. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring[]. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long[]. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people 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[].