Lilies – Ornamental Garden plants

Lilies are plants which belong to the genus Lilum of the family Liliaceae. However, many other similar plants are also called lilies.

 Lilies are bulbous herbs. Their stems are not branched. They bear typically trumpet – shaped flowers, white or colored.

True lilies are ornamental garden p[plants. The most famous is the Madonna or Sacred lily. It is a native of South Europe and Central Asia. It was known from very early times and formed part of a mural painted about 1500 B.C.  in Crete. Another common garden favorite is the Easter or Trumpet lily, a native of china and Japan. It bears large fragment white flowers. More than half a dozen species of these true lilies are found wild in Himalayas and Mountain of South India. The Himalayan giant lily can grow up to 4 m tall and bears at the top 6 to 12 large fragrant flowers. The Nilgiri lily from Nilgiri hills in South India and many other species from Himalayan have been grown in gardens and are cultivated all over the world in temperate countries. One more popular plant which belongs to the lily family but not a true lily is the Glory Lily. It is climbing plant. It bears orange-colored flowers and is commonly grown in gardens.