Lilium canadense
Lilium parvum
Canada lily, lis du Canada
alpine lily, Sierra tiger lily
usually yellowish, rhizomatous, unbranched, 1.8–4.5 × 4.2–11.7 cm, 0.3–0.8 times taller than long, 2(–3) years’ growth evident as annual bulbs, scaleless sections between these 0.7–5.3 cm;
scales 1–2-segmented, longest 0.9–2.8 cm;
stem roots present, often very many.
rhizomatous, unbranched, continuously scaly, 1.4–3.5 × 3.3–9.2 cm, 0.3–0.5 times taller than long;
scales (1–)2–3(–4)-segmented, longest 1.1–3.4 cm;
stem roots absent.
to 1.8 m. Buds rounded in cross section.
to 1.7 m. Buds rounded in cross section.
in 6–10 whorls or partial whorls, 3–12 leaves per whorl, ± horizontal, occasionally slightly ascending, drooping at tips, 4–17.3 × 1–3.6 cm, 2.5–10 times longer than wide;
blade narrowly elliptic, occasionally elliptic or slightly lanceolate, margins not undulate, apex acute, often acuminate in distal leaves;
principal veins impressed adaxially, veins and margins very noticeably roughened abaxially with small ± deltoid epidermal spicules.
in 2–5 whorls or partial whorls, 3–13 leaves per whorl, ± horizontal and drooping at tips or ascending in sun, 4–15.1 × 0.5–4.4 cm, 2.3–10.8 times longer than wide;
blade ± elliptic, margins not undulate, apex acute, often narrowly so;
veins and margins ± smooth abaxially.
racemose, 1–17-flowered.
racemose, 1–26(–41)-flowered.
pendent, not fragrant;
perianth ± campanulate;
sepals and petals somewhat recurved 1/2–3/4 along length from base, adaxial surface dirty yellow proximally and giving way to red dusting on tips, red or pale red abaxially, or orange adaxially and yellow-orange abaxially, or both surfaces solid yellow, spotted maroon, not distinctly clawed;
sepals not ridged abaxially, 5.4–8.5 × 1.2–1.7 cm;
petals 5.3–8 × 1.2–2 cm;
stamens barely exserted;
filaments ± parallel to style, barely spreading, diverging only 4°–6° from axis, ± same color as sepals and petals;
anthers dull magenta or darker, 0.6–1.3 cm;
pollen rust, sometimes light brown, rust-, tan-, or orange-brown;
pistil 4.2–6.4 cm;
ovary 1.5–2.8 cm;
style ± same color as sepals and petals;
pedicel 5–23.5 cm.
± horizontal to ascending, sometimes slightly bilaterally symmetric, not fragrant;
perianth ± funnelform;
sepals and petals somewhat recurved 3/5–2/3 along length from base, not strongly reflexed, lower often less recurved than upper and forming landing platform, orange or yellowish proximally, darker (light orange, orange, red-orange, red, or rarely ± pinkish) on distal 2/5, occasionally uniformly light orange or rarely yellow, spotted dark purple-brown or maroon, often pale abaxially, not distinctly clawed;
sepals not ridged abaxially, noticeably wider than petals, 3.2–4.2 × 0.8–1.3 cm;
petals 3.2–4.2 × 0.6–1.2 cm;
stamens moderately exserted;
filaments moderately spreading, diverging 8°–17° from axis;
anthers pale yellow, orangish, or magenta, 0.3–0.8 cm;
pollen yellowish to red-orange;
pistil 2.3–3.7 cm;
ovary 0.8–1.4 cm;
style pale green;
pedicel 3.5–15.5 cm.
3–5.2 × 1.5–2.3 cm, 1.5–2.5 times longer than wide.
1.6–2.7 × 1.2–1.8 cm, 1.2–1.9 times longer than wide.
not counted.
90–132.
= 24.
= 24.
Lilium canadense
Lilium parvum
M. L. Fernald (1943e) proposed the variety editorum to account for the more montane plants with wide leaves (2–5 times longer than wide vs. 5–10 in var. canadense), red flowers with slender and elongate tubes with perianth parts arching near or above the middle but not recurved, and narrow petals (0.8–1.3 cm in dried material). Others, including E. T. Wherry (1946) and C. A. Best (1962), sought to characterize the variation better at the subspecific level, and placed more emphasis on ecological differences. In practice, most botanists who recognize var. editorum (e.g., R. M. Adams and W. J. Dress 1982) rely on flower color to designate the varieties, since other characters emerge as quite variable.
Field observations do not strongly support infraspecific splitting of Lilium canadense. Flower color varies widely, and various color forms—usually yellow and orange—are found within single populations in Massachusetts and elsewhere. As interpreted by Adams and Dress, the distributions of the proposed varieties overlap widely, and morphological evidence also offers little support. Leaves 2–10 times longer than wide occur within a sample of plants from Ohio and Alabama that is clearly referable to subsp. editorum in the sense of Adams and Dress, and in these plants the floral tube is wider than that of Massachusetts plants assignable to the nominate variety. Petal widths (fresh material) are 1.2–2 cm. In short, the increasingly refined attempts of the last 60 years to suitably characterize variation in this species suggest that is quite difficult or impossible to do so.
Though no specimens were seen, a report of Lilium canadense from Ashley County in extreme southeastern Arkansas is quite likely to represent L. superbum.
Field observations across the range of the species indicate that the Canada lily is pollinated primarily by ruby-throated hummingbirds [Archilochus colubris (Linnaeus), family Trochilidae].
Native Americans used Lilium canadense medicinally to treat irregular menstruation, stomach disorders, rheumatism, and snake bites. The Cherokee prepared a decoction of boiled rhizomes to fatten children (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
At the lower elevations within its range, Lilium parvum tends to have clear yellow-orange flowers—a form that has been recognized as L. parvum var. crocatum—but perianth parts are redder apically at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada. The pink-flowered form that is apparently localized at lower elevations in El Dorado County, California, is referred to informally as the ditch lily (O. H. Ballantyne 1983).
Lilium parvum hybridizes sporadically with L. pardalinum subsp. pardalinum at middle elevations (ca. 1200–1500 m) in the Sierra Nevada, resulting in variable swarms of plants with flowers that are intermediate in orientation, size, and perianth recurvature. Hybrids with Lilium kelleyanum are discussed under that species.
Lilium parvum is a pollination generalist visited by several species of hummingbirds (family Trochilidae), western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus Lucas, family Papilionidae), pale swallowtails (P. eurymedon Lucas), and various bees (mostly family Apidae).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Go Botany
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
