Common Name:

General Information

Lilium tsingtauense is a herbaceous perennial bulbiferous plant producing a leafy stem around 40 - 85cm tall
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - eastern China, Korea

Habitat

Moist shady positions in thin woods, margins of thickets and amongst tall grasses[]. Sunny forested slopes, bushy and grassy places at elevations of 100 - 400 metres[].

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

Lilium tsingtauense 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 in a lime-free sandy loam[]. Grows best in a cool peaty soil amongst dwarf rhododendrons[].
Stem rooting, the bulbs should be planted 8cm deep with plenty of leafmold[]. 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[].
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 subglobose bulb can be 25 - 40mm 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 leaves and stems - cooked[, ]. Eating the leaves and stems severely harms the vitality of the bulb and is not recommended.

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[].