The genus includes 100 species that are separated into different divisions: American, Asiatic, Aurelian, Candidum, Longiflorum, Martagon, Oriental, true species and Trumpet.
All lily flowers have three petals surrounded by three sepals, and they come in colors including orange, yellow, white, pink and purple. Flowers are hermaphroditic, with both male and female reproductive organs, for self-pollination. Six long stamens protrude from the center of the flower, holding the pollen-filled anthers out so they catch wind more easily.
While the basic parts of the flower are the same across all lily varieties, flower shape varies with different species. The basic lily flower shapes are trumpet, star, bowl, funnel and recurved, also called Turk’s cap. Flowers might face up, down or to the side. The inner portion of the flower is often spotted or a solid color different than the rest of the flower color.
- Citronella – Asiatic Lily
- Grand Cru – Asiatic Lily
- King Pete – Asiatic Lily
- Salmon Twinkle – Asiatic Lily
- Black Spider – Asiatic Lily
- Brushstroke – Asiatic Lily
- Connecticut King – Asiatic Lily
- Brunello – Asiatic Lily
- Conca D’or Lily
- Canada Lily – American Lily
- Goldsmith – Trumpet Lily
- Golden Splendor – Trumpet Lily
- Pollyanna Lily
- Giraffe Lily
- Mrs R.O Blackhouse
- Beau Soleil Lily
- Leichtlin’s Lily
- Caucasian Lily
- Yellow County- Asiatic Lily
- Live Green – Asiatic Lily
- Yellow Whoppers Lily
Citronella Lily
Citronella lily is a vigorous Asiatic Lily with charming, showy, golden flowers with speckled, gracefully recurved petals. Unlike most Asiatic lilies, its amazingly decorative flowers do not face up toward the sun but are pendant. Prolific, mature bulbs can produce up to 20 blossoms per stem and will multiply to form clumps over the years.
Grand Cru lily
Grand Cru lily is a hybrid Asiatic Lily with showy, upward-facing, wide-open flowers with bright yellow petals contrasting with a burgundy heart. Blooms early summer on rigid stems rising 3-4′ tall. It is an excellent fresh cut flower that won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society (2002).
King Pete Lily
King Pete’ is a hybrid Asiatic Lily with showy, upward-facing, wide-open flowers with broad and bright yellow petals contrasting with a darker yellow heart and chocolate freckles. Blooming in early – mid summer, this Lily constitutes an excellent border plant, providing striking color and contrast to the perennial border and mixes beautifully with annuals and other summer flowering bulbs.
Salmon Twinkle Lily
Salmon Twinkle lily is a hybrid Asiatic Lily produced by crossing Oriental lilies with Trumpet lilies. It is characterized with showy, wide-open flowers featuring pale creamy-yellow petals adorned with purplish pink recurved tips. Blooming in early – mid summer, this Lily constitutes an excellent border plant, providing striking color and contrast to the perennial border.
Brushstroke Lily
Brushstroke’ is a hybrid Asiatic Lily with erect stems bearing linear, spirally-arranged, glossy, dark green leaves and, in summer, large white-yellow flowers with green throats and dark purple marks at the base of each petal. This Lily constitutes an excellent border plant, providing striking color and contrast to the perennial border.
Connecticut King
Connecticut King is a vigorous cultivar, producing racemes of unscented, star-shaped, rich yellow flowers, paling slightly toward the tips of somewhat recurved tepals. This is a showy plant for planting in the shrubbery or herbaceous border.
Conca D’or Lily
Lilium ‘Conca d’Or’ is an Orienpet lily, a cross between an Oriental lily and a trumpet lily. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall and blooms in late July to early August. The background color of the large flowers is white, with a large blaze of yellow in the center extending well into the center of the petals.
Canada Lily
Canada Lily is an erect lily variety with a single tall green stem bearing prominent whorls of lance-shaped leaves. In early to midsummer, it is crowned with striking clusters of nodding bell-shaped flowers in shades of yellow, orange or red. The ravishing blossoms are adorned with dark purple or red spots in their throats.
Golden Splendor
The flowers of this vigorous lily are large and outward-facing, and each yellow petal has a reddish-purple flush on the outer edges, which gives them a two-tone effect. It’s a wonderful plant for adding height and drama to mixed or herbaceous borders in summer, and if cut for the vase, they will often last for several weeks.
Pollyanna Lily
Pollyanna lily is a hybrid Asiatic Lily with showy, upward-facing, wide-open flowers with bright yellow petals adorned with a pink flushed throat. Blooming in early – mid summer, this Lily constitutes an excellent border plant, providing striking color and contrast to the perennial border and mixes beautifully with annuals and other summer flowering bulbs.
Giraffe Lily
Giraffe Lily is a showy bulbous lily variety with wide-open golden-yellow blooms tipped and edged with soft orange. Amazingly decorative and easy to grow, it will add drama to your garden! It is well suited to containers and the cutting garden as it makes excellent fresh cut flowers.
Mrs R.O. Backhouse Lily
‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’ is a fascinating lily variety with its racemes elegantly covered with bountiful 2 inch orange-yellow blossoms delicately flushed with pink (5 cm) and mostly downward facing. This, coupled with the strongly recurved petals resembling a Turk’s cap (hence the common name) makes it a dramatic sight in the garden.
Beau Soleil
Beau Soleil is a an eye-catching lily variety with huge, slightly fragrant, bright golden-yellow flowers. Blooming in early to mid summer, the satiny flowers are adorned with a bouquet of prominent stamens, adding further appeal. They are borne atop upright, unbranched stems clad with narrow, pointed leaves.
Caucasian Lily
This is an early flowering species, The stems are about 1.2m tall and will carry up to 40 flowers. The flowers are fragrant, lemon yellow, sometimes with dark spots on the outer edges of the petals and purple on the outer side. The leaves are scattered along the stem.
Leichtlinii Lily
Leichtlinii lily is an Asiatic Lily species which is incredible beautiful with slender stems plentifully clad with long, narrow leaves and abundant, golden yellow flowers, resembling Tiger Lilies. Downward facing and strongly reflexed, they are covered with chocolate speckles, giving them the appearance of the skin of a tiger. Lilium leichtlinii is amazingly decorative and quite prolific as mature bulbs can produce up to 20 blossoms per stem.