BOTANICAL. INDEX. 
21 
LILIES. 
j '1.1, ancient writers, both in sacred and profane history, give the Lily a prom- 
3 i inent place — some adopting the White Lily as the emblem of purity; for 
even the name Lily is said to be derived from the Celtic word “ li ,” signi- 
fying whiteness, on account of the beautiful white flowers of Lilium 
candidum from the Levant, the best known and most universally distributed 
* 1 ® 1 species of Europe. We usually associate the idea of extreme whiteness 
with the Lily, for certainly nothing can surpass in purity of color the white Lily; 
and on this account it was by the ancients held sacred to Juno. It has often been 
chosen by the titled nobility in different portions of the world, as well as by some 
nations, as their emblem, or coat-of-arms, to denote majesty as well as purity; 
and from this fact we may justly acknowledge them as the nobility of the vege- 
table kingdom. That old naturalist, Pliny, who lived in the infancy of science, 
said ‘‘the Lily is the next in nobility to the Rose,” which he considers the prince. 
It must be borne in mind that Pliny lived and traveled in the land of Roses, and 
knew very little of the choicer varieties of Palms. Linnaeus called the “Palms the 
princes, the Lilies the nobles, and the Grasses the plebians ” of the vegetable kingdom. 
The old white species, Lilium candidum , has been cultivated in Europe from time 
immemorial, and for a long period there were very few other species known; but 
upon the colonization of America the two choice old native species, Lilium superbum 
and Philadelphicum, were quickly introduced into European gardens, where they still 
hold a prominent place in collections of hardv plants. But the introduction of the 
Japan Lilies has given a new impetus to “ Lily culture,” for they are the gems of the 
tribe, and with the L. auratum, or Golden-banded Lily, and their hybrids, will con- 
stitute a new era and give new charms to a group of plants already so much admired. 
