Common Name: Lis de Pompone

General Information

Lilium pomponium is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem around 120cm tall
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Although Lilium pomponium has a restricted area of occupancy and extent of occurrence, it has a wide distribution within that area and its population is stable. The existing threats are unlikely to cause the species’ populations to severely decline in the near future. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2015)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Europe - southern Alps in southern France and northern Italy.

Habitat

Rocky hillsides[] on steep limestone screes[]. Sunny calcareous rocky pastures[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lilium pomponium 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 calcareous soils but tolerates acid conditions[]. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[]. Prefers a warm sunny position[, , ], requiring a hot flowering and ripening season if it is to grow well in following years[].
Plant the bulbs 12 - 15cm 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 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 bulb is made up of many imbricate, fleshy leaf scales, without a tunic[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - autumnal epigeal 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 in 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[].