56 ]VILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS 



Sir James Smith, one of the most celebrated of English botanists, 

 suggests that the Lilies alluded to by our Lord may have been Amaryllis 

 luiea, or the Golden Lily of Palestine — ^the bright yellow blossoms of 

 this plant abound in the fields of Judsa. and at that moment probably 

 caught His eye, their glowing colour aptly illustrating the subject on 

 which He was about to speak. 



The Lily has a wide geographical range, and may be found in 

 some form in every clime. 



There are Lilies that bloom within the cold influence of the frigid 

 zone, as well as the more brilliant species that glow beneath the blazing 

 suns of the equator in Africa and Southern Asia. 



Dr. Richardson mentions, in his list of Arctic plants, Lilium 

 Philadelphiawi, our own gorgeous orange (or rather scarlet spotted) 

 Lily. He remarks that it is <i!alled fcy the Esquimaux " Mouse-root.'' 

 from the fact that it is much sought after by the field mice, which feed 

 upon the root. The Porcupine also digs for it in the sandy soil in 

 which it delights to grow. 



In Kamtschatka the Lilium pomponiuiu is used by the natives as 

 an article of food ; and in Muscovy the white Narcissus is roasted as a 

 substitute for bread. 



The healing qualities of the large white Lily roots and leaves, when 

 applied in the form of a poultice to sores and boils, are well known. 

 Thus are beauty and usefulness united in this most attractive plant. 



We find the Orange Lily most frequently growing on open plain- 

 lands, where the soil is sandy loam. In partially-shaded grassy thickets 

 in oak-openings, in the months of June and July, it may be seen mixed 

 with the azure blue Lupine {Liipirms peren?iis), the golden-flowered 

 Moccasin ( Cypripedium pubescetis), the large sweet-scented Wintergreen 

 (Pyrola ellipiica), and other charming summer flowers. Among 

 these our gay and gorgeous Lily stands conspicuous. 



The stem is from eighteen inches to two feet high. The leaves 

 are narrow pointed, and of a dark green colour, growing in whorls at 

 intervals round the stem. The flowers are from one to three ; large 

 open bells, of a rich orange scarlet, within, spotted with purplish brown 

 or black. The outer surface of the petals is pale orange ; anthers six, 

 on long filaments ; pollen of a brick red, or brown colour ; stigma three- 

 lobed. 



Many flowers increase in beauty of colour and size under cultivation 

 in our gardens, but our glorious Lily can hardly be seen to greater 

 advantage than when growing wild on the open plains and prairies, 

 under the bright skies of its native wilderness. 



