Lilium michiganense

Native

Moist to wet. Tallgrass prairies, meadows, streambanks, swamps, bogs, bottoms, woodland edges, roadside and railroad ditches. Full or partial sun.

July to August

Reddish-orange with maroon spots

3′ to 6′

This is an erect, hairless, unbranched perennial rising from a yellowish, unbranched bulb and rhizome.

The stem is hairless, round, and unbranched below the inflorescence.

The leaves appear in whorls of 3 to 7 along the stem. There may also be leaves on the upper stem appearing singly, in pairs, or in partial whorls. The leaves are 1¾″ to 5″ long, ¼″ to 1″ wide, narrowly lance-shaped, and taper to both ends. The tips droop when the sky is overcast, and become horizontal or ascending in the sun. They are stalkless, untoothed, hairless, and have parallel venation. The underside of the leaves are rough to the touch due to minute, pointed projections on the outermost cellular layer along the veins and margins.

The inflorescence is a terminal cluster of 1 to 6 flowers arising from a single point at the top of the stem (umbel). The flowers hang downward at the end of 3″ to 5″ long flower stems that spread upward. One or more flower stems may also appear from upper leaf axils.

The large flowers are 2½″ to 3″ wide, Turk’s-cap shaped, and are not fragrant. They consist of 6 tepals, 3 inner tepals (petals) that are similar in appearance but somewhat wider and shorter than the 3 outer tepals (sepals). The tepals spread outward and bend backward to their base. They are reddish-orange with a yellowish-orange throat and purple or maroon spots near the throat. The stamens project well beyond the tepals and curve outward.

The fruit is a 3-celled seed capsule.

Orange daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) is shorter, 2′ to 4′ at maturity. It has a basal rosette of grass-like leaves and no leaves on the flowering stem. The inflorescence consists of a few small, elongated clusters of flowers, not umbels, at the end of each scape branch. The flowers are up to 4″ wide, funnel-shaped, tannish-orange with a yellow throat separated by a red stripe. They do not have spots near the throat. They are semi-erect or horizontal—they do not hang downward. They last only one day.

Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium) has a central stalk that is densely covered with long, tangled, white hairs, especially near the top. It has only alternate leaves. There are 1 to 3 small dark purple bulblets in the axils of the upper leaves. The inflorescence is a terminal, branched, elongated, cluster, not an umbel. The flowers are up to 4″ wide and uniformly orange to reddish-orange—they do not have yellow or yellowish throats. They have purple-brown spots except near the tips, not just near the throat.

Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum) is much shorter, 1′ to 3′ at maturity. The leaves are scattered, more or less alternate, except the uppermost, which are in a whorl. The inflorescence is 1 to 3 flowers. The flowers are bell shaped and erect—they do not hang downward. The tepals are spoon-shaped, clawed, erect, and flaring, and bend backward slightly toward their tips. The tips come to a blunt point. They do not touch near the base. They are bright orange or reddish-orange with a yellow throat and purple spots near the throat.

This plant is polinated primarily by swallow-tail butterflies.