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Lilium longiflorum

Common name:	White Trumpet Lily	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	Thunb.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Southern Japan, in the Ryukyu Islands.
Habitat:	By the coast, often in pockets of coral rock[143].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Easter Lily [H], Trumpet Lily [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	florum = flowered longiflorum = long flowered
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 1m by 0.25m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Root.

Bulb - cooked[177]. Mild flavoured and slightly sweet[183]. A starch is also extracted from the bulb[105, 183]. It can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes(Solanum tuberosum).
Young leaves and stems - cooked[105, 177, 183]. Eating the leaves and stems severely harms the vitality of the bulb and is not recommended.
Flowers[183]. No further details are given. The flower buds are eaten according to another report[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiasthmatic Antitussive Expectorant Sedative.

The bulb is antiasthmatic, antitussive, expectorant, sedative and tonic (nutritive)[174, 176]. It is used in the treatment of coughs, haemoptysis, insomnia and fidgetiness in the later stage of febrile disease[176].

Other Uses

Essential.

An essential oil is obtained from the flowers, used in perfumery[46, 58, 61].

Cultivation details

Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[200]. Lime tolerant.[200], plants grow well in limestone soils[260]. Plants deteriorate rapidly if grown in deep shade[143].
A very ornamental plant[1] it is often cultivated for the cut flower trade[260]. It is only hardy outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain and even there needs to be grown in a warm sheltered position with protection from early frosts[143]. The dormant bulbs will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -5° c[214]. It can be grown as an annual, the plants can flower in 6 months from seed[143].
The flowers diffuse a pleasant jasmine-like perfume[245].
Hand pollination is required in order to ensure fertilization[143].
Stem rooting, plant the bulbs 20cm deep[143]. 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[200].
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[200].

Propagation

Seed - immediate epigeal germination[130]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks[163]. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people prefer to 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[K].
Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[200].
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[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are very strongly scented, diffusing a jasmine-like perfume.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Liliaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[130] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants, including Distylium racemosum and some perennial members of the family Berberidaceae.

[143] Woodcock. and Coutts. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life 1935
A classic, but dated. Deals with the genus Lilium.

[163] RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.
Lots of interesting snippets about plants in the family Liliaceae (in the old, broad sense)

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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