Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lilium superbum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Lilium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lilium superbum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Lilium superbum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-32-005:
Lilium superbum FAMILY Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Lilium superbum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lilium superbum
COMMON NAME:
Turk's-cap Lily, Lily-royal, Superb Lily
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_lisu_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120505_282
May Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
Leaves narrow, lanceolate, and numerous, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk838_a
July NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Anthers 0.6-1" long on spreading filaments, extending well beyond tepals, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk838_b
July NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Harry Davis hld838_crw_7097
July NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Tepals yellow to orange, spotted, reflexed so stamens & pistil project, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0407o_07
July Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0407p_26
July Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves typically 10x or more long as wide, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6643
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6646
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
Filaments parallel along much or most of length, then widely spreading, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm200717_6647
July Jackson County NC
Nantahala National Forest
Anthers magenta, occasionally purple or dull purple, 1.4-2.6cm; pollen rust, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm9808a_02a
July Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_lilium_superbum_1585
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Ron Lance rwl_20180720_104525392
July Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl_20180720_105042927
July Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_209
August Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves in whorls of 5-20, widest at or below middle, tapering to both ends, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_213
August Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tepals at maturity recurved fully to form a circular shape, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_227
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Tepals lanceolate, extremely recurved, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_232
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
A superior ovary, thus attached above the point of the tepals' attachment.
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_235
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_331
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flower color ranges from orange to red, liberally spotted with purple, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Ron Lance rwl_lilium_superbum
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Twenty flowers or more on a single plant is not unusual, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm140907_407
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruits angular capsules to 2" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lilium superbum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lilium superbum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Lilium superbum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-32-005:
Lilium superbum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Lilium superbum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lilium superbum
838
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: cove forests and moist forests, moist ravines, blackwater stream swamps, Coastal Plain bogs, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in GA Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Whorls of 5-20
FLOWER:
Summer
Orange/Reddish
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals in two whorls of 3
6 long-exserted stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p192
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p214
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p161
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p144
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p114
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p352
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p195
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p448
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p164
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p036
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p391
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p362
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p418
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p398
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p010
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