Lilium columbianum
| Lilium columbianum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lilium columbianum (common name: columbia tiger lily)
Propagation: Seed - autumnal hypogeal germination[1]. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring[2]. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long[2]. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant[K].
Division in autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[3].
Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out[3].
Stem or leaf cuttings[2].
Cultivation: Requires a moist not too heavy well-drained acid loam in light shade[4][5]. Succeeds in full sun[5].
Plant bulbs 10 - 15cm deep[5]. Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn[3].
The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour[3].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Moist soils in woodlands, meadows, amongst ferns and amongst shrubs in sun or shade from sea level to 1500 metres[4][6].
Edibility: Bulb - raw or cooked[7][8][9][10][11]. The oval-shaped bulb is up to 5cm in diameter and is used as a vegetable in the same way as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)[12][13]. Starchy, with a slightly sweet taste[12]. The flavour of the cooked bulbs is said to resemble sweet chestnuts but with a slight bitterness[13]. The bulbs were highly prized by various native North American Indian tribes and were used as a staple food[14][11].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: L. nitidum. L. parviflorum. W.G.Smith.
Links
References
- ↑ Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society, 1982.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Reed, David. Lilies and Related Plants. 1989.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fox, Derek. Growing Lilies. Croom Helm, 1985.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Woodcock, Hubert. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life, 1935.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Turner, Nancy. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. UBC Press Vancouver, 1995.
- ↑ Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. University of Washington Press, 1981.