Common Name:

General Information

Lilium hansonii is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem up to 120cm tall
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - Korea

Habitat

Thickets and open forests in very humus-rich soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium hansonii 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[]. Best grown in partial shade, the flowers are bleached in strong sunlight[]. Lime tolerant[]. Plants are hardy, easy to grow and long-lived, succeeding in most soils and positions[].
Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 20 - 25cm 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[]. The flowers have a slight but sweet perfume, this decreasing with the increase of pigment in the blooms[].
Plants seldom produce fertile seed, even when they are hand pollinated[].
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[].
Lilium hansonii, Lilium distichum, and Lilium medeoloides seem to be related to one another, and grow allopatrically[].

Edible Uses

Bulb - cooked[, ]. The ovoid-globose or subglobose bulb can be 3 - 7cm in diameter[]. 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[].

Young plant - cooked[, ].

Medicinal

None known

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[].