Among our common wild flowers, that quickly attract the attention of
the observer is the Yellow Lily (Lilium canadense). Its home is in the
swamps, the wet meadows and fields of Canada and the United States,
east of the Missouri river. It is also called the Canada, the Field and
the Meadow Lily.
This plant, with about forty-five sister species--all beautiful,
belongs to the genus Lilium. All are natives of the Northern Hemisphere
and are found distributed around the world. About sixteen species are
natives of the United States. The flowers vary in color. Some are red,
others white or yellow and some are more or less mottled.
No plants are more frequently mentioned in Ancient Myths and by the
classical poets. Though the white lily (Lilium candidum) was, even
before the time of Homer, known as a garden flower, yet the earliest
descriptions of the lilies found in cultivation were written by Gerard
in the year 1597.
It is thought by some that the "lilies of the field," spoken of in the
seventh chapter of Matthew, are the red lily described by Pliny. The
white lilies have long been considered the symbol of purity and were
often used by the great masters in the pictures of the Annunciation,
in which they were represented as held by the Angel Gabriel. How
appropriate is the white lily, with its glossy and pure white petals
for the decoration of Easter time!
The slender stalk of the Yellow Lily arises from a scaly bulbous and
thickened underground stem, growing to a height of from two to five
feet. The leaves are narrow and lance-shaped, from two to six inches
in length and usually attached in whorls of from three to eight. Each
stalk bears from one to fifteen flowers, the ground color of which is
yellow or reddish with brownish spots toward the base of each division,
which are six in number and are spreading and gracefully arched. The
flowers, appearing in June, July and August, are nodding and vary in
length from two to four inches. The fruit pods are oblong, large, and
bear numerous seeds.
Closely related to the plant of our illustration, and at times closely
resembling it, is the beautiful Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum).
This species is wonderfully prolific in the production of flowers,
sometimes bearing forty or more on a single stalk. It is one of the
tallest of the lilies, and frequently the marshes of the eastern states
are transformed by its presence into striking masses of color, orange,
orange-yellow or red.