Species Lilies

Species lilies, including the former Nomocharis, are here grouped by region and related species are shown alongside each other. Click on an image to enlarge.

Eastern North American species | Western North American species | Sino-Himalayan species | Nomocharis | Siberian, Japanese & other Asiatic species

European & Caucasian species – listed in approximate geographical distribution West to East

Eastern North American species

Variation in wild populations is not always apparent to gardeners. The following is a selection of photos of L michiganense taken by Patrick Brown in Midland County, Michigan which illustrates something of the range of form, colour of tepals & spotting to be found within one area.

Western North American species

Sino-Himalayan species

Nomocharis

There is a growing body of scientific evidence that the distinction between Nomocharis and Lilium is the result of habitat specialisation. Accordingly, Nomocharis are being re-named as Lilium and are here placed alongside the Sino-Himalayan lilies.

Nomocharis photographed by Alan Mitchell. L pardanthinum Mairei courtesy of Madeleine Tinson

 

Siberian, Japanese & other Asiatic species

Different forms of Lilium japonicum are little known outside of Japan. The first gallery shows a selection of this species courtesy of Mr Hideo Ihara.

 

Lilium dauricum… or Lilium maculatum ssp. dauricum …  here growing in the wild at Ishikara dunes, Hokkaido, Japan. Photos taken on 13 June 2020 by Mr Hideo Ihara

 

In cultivation this has been shown to be a variable species in both colour & height but not in the size of the floret. The following photos are from the range of forms grown by Darm Crook.

“Species lily” photo credits: Alisdair Aird, Prof. Leonid V Averyanov, Keith Baldie, George Battle, Patrick Brown, Freddy Byttebier, Jing-Tyng Chou, Darm Crook, Alain Denis,  Rimmer deVries, Barry Francis, Leif Fransson, Mel Herbert, Gordon Hogensen, Irene Hopton-Scott, Raymond Hudson, Hideo Ihara, Prof. Dr. Nursel Ikinci, Dick Kammer, Jennifer Kerry, Barbara Knox-Shaw, Jurgen Koch, Karl Kristensen, Charlie Kroell, Preston Ling, Alan Mitchell, Joe Nemmer, Bjornar Olsen, Peter Shotter, Mark Skinner, Lane Spence, Shawn Stegent, David Thrun, Ohshima Toshiaki, Martin Toon, Sonam Wangchen, Oliver Wyatt, Bleddyn Wynn-Jones, Patrick Xie.

 

 All photographs are copyright © the photgraphers and used here with permission. All rights reserved