JOURNAL 



OF 



The New York Botanical Garden 



Vol. XXXIV February, 1933 No. 398 



THE FLOWERING HABITS OF DAYLILIES 



The generic name Hemerocallis and the common name "day- 

 lily" recognize and emphasize the observation made by gardeners 

 long ago that the individual flowers of certain of the plants thus 

 named are day-blooming. 



An early volume ( Plantarum seu Stirpium Historia, 1576, by 

 Lobel) definitely mentions the two members of this group of 

 plants then known to European gardeners. One of these plants 

 was called Liriosphodelus phoeniceus and Lobel states that the 

 names "Hemerocalis" and "Ephemerum" were commonly ap- 

 plied to this particular plant because of the fact that the fugacious 

 flowers last for scarcely a day. Of the flower behavior of the 

 other type mentioned under the name Liriosphodelus lit tens lili- 

 florus, the Lemon Daylily of today, Lobel makes no mention. 



Fifty-three years later John Parkinson, writing especially of 

 plants in English gardens (Paradisi in Sole, 1629), describes the 

 same two daylilies under the names "Liliasphodelus phoeniceus, 

 the gold red Daylilly " and " Liliasphodelus lutcus, the yellow 

 Daylilly." Of the former he says that the flowers open " but for 

 a day, not lasting longer, but closing at night and not opening 

 again ; whereupon it had his English name 'The Lilly for a day.' ' ; 

 Of the other type he states that the flower "abideth blowne many 

 daies before it fade." Later he remarks, " In English we call 

 them both Day Lillies, but the name doeth not so well agree with 

 the last, as with the first, for the causes above specified." 



In establishing the modern generic name for these plants, 

 Linnaeus (Species Plantarum, 1753) selected the old appellation 

 Hemerocallis, meaning in its Greek derivation beautiful for a 



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