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Common Name: Madonna Lily

General Information

Lilium candidum is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem around 100cm tall
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It was formerly cultivated in Monastry Gardens for use as a medicine and also as an important symbol in Christian religion. It is commonly grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southeast Europe - Balkans, Greece; western Asia - Turkey, eastern Mediterranean

Habitat

Rocky slopes and in scrub to 600 metres[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium candidum is a moderately cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -20°c when fully dormant[].
Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich fertile loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[, ]. Prefers a sunny position[] but also succeeds in shade[]. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[]. Grows well in acid[] and limy soils[, , , ], though it prefers a limey soil[].
A very ornamental plant[, ]. It is seen as a symbol of purity and in Christian tradition is devoted to the Virgin Mary, in pre-Christian times it was sacred to Juno, the Goddess of heaven[]. The flowers have a scent of heather honey[]. The Madonna lily is generally very hardy and easy to grow[] but it is unpredictable and does not grow or flower well in all gardens[, ]. It is also susceptible to botrytis[].
Only just cover the bulb with soil[, ]. It is best to leave the clumps undisturbed since they resent being moved[, ], but if you need to transplant then this is best done in late August to early September, certainly no later than mid-October[].
Plants produce a basal rosette of over-wintering leaves in the autumn[], these die off as the plant comes into flower[].
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. The raw bulb contains an acrid principle, but this is destroyed by drying or thorough heating[]. When cooked the bulb is pulpy, sweet and sugary[]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The bulb is made up of many imbricate, fleshy leaf scales, without a tunic[].

Medicinal

The Madonna lily has a long history of herbal use, though it is seldom employed in modern herbalism because of its scarcity[]. The bulb and the flowers are astringent, highly demulcent, emmenagogue, emollient and expectorant[, , ]. The plant is mainly used externally, being applied as a poultice to tumours, ulcers, external inflammations etc[, ]. The bulb is harvested in August and can be used fresh or dried[, ]. The flowers are harvested when fully open and used fresh for making juice, ointments or tinctures[].

The pollen has been used in the treatment of epilepsy[].

Other Uses

An essential oil from the flowers is used in perfumery[, , ].

Extracts of the bulbs and flowers are used as ingredients in commercial cosmetic preparations as skin conditioners[].

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[].
Bulblets are formed on the stem just below the soil surface. These should be dug up in the autumn and replanted immediately, preferably in a cold frame for growing on until large enough to plant out into the garden[, ].
The formation of bulbils on the stem can be induced by either removing the stem at flowering time and layering it just below the soil surface, or by removing all the flowers before they open.