Common Name: Morning Star Lily

General Information

Lilium concolor is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem around 60cm tall
The plant iss harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is cultivated as a food crop in parts of China and is also grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - Russian Far East, eastern and southeastern China, Japan, Korea

Habitat

Scrub in pockets of humus on carboniferous limestone and in heavy limey soil; at elevations from 1,500 - 2,200 metres[]. Moist places in forests, thickets, moist meadows, grassy slopes and sunny grassland[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	0.60 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium concolor is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -30°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[, ]. Prefers an acid sandy soil but also succeeds on heavy soils[, ]. Plants are lime tolerant[, , ]. Requires a sheltered position if grown outdoors, doing well on a rock garden, but it is best grown in a greenhouse[]
Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 7 - 10 cm deep[, ]. Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn[].
A very ornamental plant[], it is cultivated for its edible bulb in Japan[].
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 baked bulbs are used as sweet spice[]. Rich in starch, the bulb can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). The ovoid bulb can vary from 15 - 35mm in diamete; it is made up of many imbricate, fleshy leaf scales, without a tunic[].

Young leaves - cooked[].

Flowers[]. No more details are given.

Medicinal

The bulb is carminative, expectorant, pectoral, sedative and tonic[, ]. It is taken internally in the treatment of bronchial complaints[].
The flowers invigorate the blood[]. They are poulticed onto sores and boils[].

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[].