Lilium humboldtii
Lilium superbum
Humboldt lily, Humboldt's lily
Turk's-cap lily
often somewhat purplish, variable, subrhizomatous to ± ovoid, 3.3–11.7 × 2.4–14.4 cm, 0.4–2.6(–3) times taller than long;
scales unsegmented or notched, longest 3.5–11.2 cm;
stem roots present or absent.
rhizomatous, often branching dichotomously at 120° from main axis, 2.4–4.3 × 6–10.2 cm, 0.2–0.6 times taller than long, 2(–3) years’ growth evident as annual bulbs, the scaleless sections between these 0.6–3.8(–4.6) cm;
scales 1–2-segmented (if 2-segmented, often only on inner scales), longest 1.2–3.9 cm;
stem roots present or absent.
to 3.1 m. Buds rounded in cross section.
1.2–2.8 m. Buds ± triangular in cross section.
in 2–8 whorls or partial whorls, 3–16(–28) leaves per whorl, usually ascending, 4.6–14.5 × 0.8–3.6 cm, 2.9–7.2 times longer than wide;
blade usually ± oblanceolate, though often weakly so, rarely elliptic or lanceolate, margins usually undulate, apex acute;
veins and margins ± smooth abaxially.
usually ± evenly distributed along stem, in 6–24 whorls or partial whorls, 3–20 leaves per whorl, usually ± horizontal and drooping at tips, distal leaves ascending in sun, 7.1–26.1 × 0.7–2.7 cm, 4–18 times longer than wide;
blade narrowly elliptic, sometimes extremely so, occasionally barely oblanceolate, margins not undulate, apex acute, acuminate in distal leaves;
veins and margins ± smooth abaxially.
racemose, 1–33(–40)-flowered.
racemose, 1–22-flowered.
pendent, not fragrant;
perianth Turk’s-cap-shaped;
sepals and petals reflexed 1/5 along length from base, orange or yellow, with prominent red or magenta spots, not distinctly clawed;
sepals not ridged abaxially, 5.2–9.8 × 1.4–2.4 cm;
petals 5.6–9.6 × 1.5–2.9 cm;
stamens strongly exserted;
filaments parallel along most of length, then very widely spreading, diverging 17°–31° from axis;
anthers purple, 1.1–1.9 cm;
pollen rust, tan, or peach, becoming yellow or tan-yellow;
pistil 4.6–7.1 cm;
ovary 1.2–2.6 cm;
style green, often pale;
pedicel 7.8–21.2 cm.
pendent, not fragrant;
perianth Turk’s-cap-shaped;
sepals and petals reflexed less than 1/5 along length from base, yellow or sometimes yellow-orange proximally, red-orange or sometimes red, red-purple, orange, or yellow barely suffused with red distally, spotted magenta, not distinctly clawed, nectaries exposed, forming visible green star;
sepals with 2 parallel, often faint abaxial ridges, 6.8–10.5 × 1.1–2.1 cm;
petals 7–10.2 × 1.4–2.6 cm;
stamens strongly exserted;
filaments parallel along much or most of length, then widely spreading, diverging (7°–)11°–30° from axis;
anthers magenta, occasionally purple or dull purple, 1.4–2.6 cm;
pollen rust;
pistil 4.7–8.2 cm;
ovary 1.5–3.4 cm;
style pale green, often spotted purple;
pedicel 7.4–19.1 cm.
longitudinally keeled, 2.5–5.4 × 1.8–3.3 cm, 1.1–2.3 times longer than wide.
2.9–6.2 × 1.7–2.5 cm, 1.7–3.3 times longer than wide.
not counted.
not counted.
= 24.
Lilium humboldtii
Lilium superbum
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Lilium humboldtii is declining throughout its range due to habitat destruction, primarily for housing. Forming large scattered colonies at foothill elevations under ponderosa pines or in oak canyons and chaparral, these massive plants with towering inflorescences and large flowers are quite striking. With Lilium pardalinum and L. parryi, they were used in the early part of the century to produce the Bellingham hybrid lilies, development of which continued with the Bellmaid hybrids. Though not as popular as various Asiatic hybrids, these are still in use.
A. M. Kellogg was aware as early as 1859 that the tall, orange-flowered, dry-land lily from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada was distinctive, and he presented this opinion to the California Academy of Sciences about that time (A. M. Kellogg 1872). By the time he had published a description attached to the name Lilium bloomerianum, P. E. S. Duchartre had described this same plant from material provided by B. Roezl and grown by M. Leichtlin, and named it after the German explorer and botanist Alexander von Humboldt. Carl Purdy and others then misapplied Kellogg’s name in various combinations to the southern California expression recognized here as Lilium humboldtii subsp. ocellatum.
The Humboldt lily is pollinated primarily by large butterflies, especially western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus Lucas, family Papilionidae) and pale swallowtails (P. eurymedon Lucas), and to a lesser extent by the monarch butterfly [Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus), family Nymphalidae].
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The largest Lilium east of the Rocky Mountains and the commonest over most of its range, the Turk’s-cap lily is a familiar sight throughout much of the southern Appalachians and along the northern Atlantic coastal plain. Flowers are rather variable; those in the north are sometimes floridly colored with dark purple bases on the perianth parts. The single report from Vermont (F. C. Seymour 1993) remains unconfirmed; however, recent collections from Washington Parish in Louisiana, Perry County in Missouri, and Bamberg County in the coastal plain of South Carolina extend the range of this species.
Lilium superbum shares distinctive features with L. michauxii, L. pyrophilum, and L. iridollae that indicate a close relationship and are diagnostically useful, namely paired ridges on the backs of the sepals and buds that are triangular in cross section. None has the red style characteristic of the other eastern pendent lily clade (L. michiganense, L. canadense, and L. grayi) centered to the northwest, and only L. iridollae sometimes has the leaf margins and veins roughened abaxially as is characteristic of L. canadense and its close relatives.
Common inheritance of a suite of unique, derived features and peripheral allopatric distributions suggest that Lilium pyrophilum and L. iridollae may be geographical isolates of broadly distributed L. superbum ancestral stock; both restricted species occur in specialized wetland habitats. Geography aside, the three are unequivocally distinguished only by various combinations of leaf and bulb characteristics, flower color, habitat, and blooming time. However, the overall degree of separation is comparable to that between many other species in the genus. Lilium superbum blooms the earliest, is the largest, and has the most numerous and largest flowers, and the long, narrow leaves in many whorls are distinctive. Lilium michauxii overlaps in range with these three species but is easily separated morphologically and ecologically.
Lilium superbum is pollinated primarily by the swallowtail butterflies that are common within its range, among them the spicebush (Papilio troilus Linnaeus, family Papilionidae), pipevine (Battus philenor Linnaeus), and eastern tiger (Papilio glaucus Linnaeus). Great spangled fritillaries [Speyeria cybele (Fabricius), family Nymphalidae] also visit the Turk’s-cap lily (R. M. Adams and W. J. Dress 1982).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Sepals and petals orange, spots magenta, without lighter red margins; bulbs off white, occasionally flecked with purple, scales always unsegmented; foothills of Sierra Nevada. | subsp. humboldtii |
1. Sepals and petals yellow or light orange, spots red or magenta, aureolated with lighter red margins; bulbs often purplish, scales usually notched; s California. | subsp. ocellatum |
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