THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 
Vol, X JOLIET, ILL.. MAY, 19C»). 
OUR NATIVE LILIES. 
IT is surprising to find lunv many flowers car.ed lilies are 
not lilies when we come to examine the matter. If we 
assume, as seems proper that the true lilies l>elong- to the 
family Liliaccje. then the calla lily is not a lily, nor the wa- 
ter-lily, the Atamasco lily, the irog lily, the black-berry 
lily or the wood lilies. Day lilies. Easter lilies and meadow 
lilies are lilies in the sense that they belong to the lily family, 
but very few of these belono^ to the g-enus Lilium, to wdiich 
in the narrower sense all lilies belong. 
There are some fifty or more si>ecies of true lilies in 
the world, the srreat majority in the north temperate zone, 
where the\^ coni[>}etely encircle the earth. Usually there are 
not many species in any one locality, and their very distinct- 
ive habits make them among the most satisfactory of plants 
for the beginning botanist to identify. Best kmown of 
American lilies are probably the tliree common to tlie North- 
eastern states — at least most has txeen written about them. 
The earliest is the wild red, fire or Philadelphia lily iUIiiun 
Philadelphiaim), which must be looked for in June or July 
in open, broad-leaved forests, and bushy "slashings." Its 
short stem, topped by one or two erect fire-red blossoms, will 
identify it at sight. From Ohio westward this s|>ecies has 
a close relative called Lilium iimhcUatum. It has narrower 
Iea\ es. alternate instead of verticillate on the stem. In the 
Southern states the common species gives place to the south- 
ern red lily ( L. Cafeshmi), which has narrow, appressed 
leaves and Iong-p<^>inted [x?rianth segments. The wild yel- 
low lily (L. Canadeiisc) , which, as has been noted in this 
magazine, is as often red as yellow, is the common lily of 
