LILY 



Owry.— Superior, that is, above the base of the perianth; three- 

 celled; style long and slender; stigma club-shaped, three-lobed. 

 Fruit. — ^A three-celled, many-seeded capsule. 



Lilies are riot so extensively cultivated as their beauty would 

 seem to warrant, and the explanation, doubtless, is that in several 

 respects they are peculiar plants and require especial treatment. 

 The bulbs differ materially from the bulbs of tulips or hyacinths, 

 in that they are composed of many overlapping fleshy scales; 

 that is, the bulb leaves are broken off, do not wrap romid each 

 other closely and make a compact mass, but are separate and 

 loose. Hence, in a way, the heart of the Lily bulb is open to the 

 air and is easily injured by careless exposure. Furthermore, the 

 Lily needs a moist, cool root-run and that is one reason why it 

 is well to plant it among shrubs. 



In the case of most bulbs the fibrous roots start only from the 

 base; this is plainly seen in any hyacinth forced in a glass. But 

 when the Lily bulb becomes established it sends out roots from 

 above as well as from below, and it is these roots that feed upon 

 the surface soil and these are the ones that suffer most in heat and 

 drought. Failure to understand this characteristic is at the bot- 

 tom of much failure in Lily culture. 



The books divide the Lilies into six groups or sub-genera; five 

 of which have representatives among our familiar garden species; 

 the sixth is a central Asian group, rarely cultivated in this country. 



In the first stand the Madonna and Easter Lilies, marked by a 

 funnel-shaped perianth, with oblanceolate segments which re- 

 curve only at the tip. The second finds a representative in our 

 native Wood Lily, Lilium phiiadelphicum, whose upright cup 

 takes in the sunshine imabashed. This group is marked by either 

 single or umbellate flowers, the perianth erect and spreading; 

 the segments recurved only in the extended flower but not rev- 

 olute; the stamens diverging from a straight style. In the gar- 

 den, Lilium elegans is one of the best of this type. 



The third group includes the well-known and highly prized 

 Tiger Lily, as well as the two beautiful Japan Lilies, Lilium 

 speciosum and Lilium auratum. It is marked by a funnel-form 



IS 



