# True Lilies (*lilium*)

True Lilies are beautiful flowers that come in many colors, making gardens look magical! They have large, trumpet-shaped blooms that attract butterflies and bees.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Habitat:** True Lilies thrive in gardens, meadows, and woodland edges.
- **Also known as:** Oriental Lily, Stargazer Lily

![True Lilies](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Formosa_lily%252C_Nagai_Park%252C_Osaka.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Laitche, CC BY-SA 4.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Formosa_lily%252C_Nagai_Park%252C_Osaka.jpg)

## Appearance

The True Lilies has large, showy flowers often shaped like trumpets or stars, held high on sturdy, unbranched stems. Their petals come in a vibrant array of colors—white, yellow, orange, pink, red, or purple—frequently adorned with distinctive spots or stripes.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Liliopsida
- **Order:** Liliales
- **Family:** Liliaceae
- **Genus:** Lilium

## Interesting facts

- In ancient cultures, lilies were symbols of royalty, purity, and even rebirth!
- Many lilies have spots and stripes like secret maps for buzzing bees!
- Some True Lily bulbs are actually edible and a delicious delicacy in certain cultures!
- True Lilies can "sleep" underground as bulbs for years, emerging bigger each spring!

## Special abilities

- **Power of Scent:** True Lilies can release sweet or spicy fragrances to attract insects, helping them spread their pollen far and wide.
- **Hidden Energy Storage:** True Lilies have special bulbs underground that store food, allowing them to regrow year after year.
- **Spotlight Markings:** True Lilies display bright spots or lines on their petals, acting as visual guides for pollinating insects.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 60-180 cm
- **Spread:** 30-60 cm
- **Flower Size:** 5-20 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Summer
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** High
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Gathers nectar and pollen from the flowers.
- **Eats:** Lily beetle (*Lilioceris lilii*) — Larvae and adults feed voraciously on leaves.
- **Eaten by:** [White-tailed deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-tailed-deer) (*Odocoileus virginianus*) — Browses on the leaves and flowers of lilies.

## Traits

- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.
- [Diurnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/diurnal): Diurnal animals are primarily active during daylight hours, typically resting or sleeping at night.
- [Pollinator](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator): Describes organisms that transfer pollen, enabling the fertilization and reproduction of plants.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

Always ask an adult before picking any flowers.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify True Lilies?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is True Lilies?

60-180 cm

### How wide does True Lilies spread?

30-60 cm

### How big are the flowers on True Lilies?

5-20 cm

### When does True Lilies bloom?

Summer

### Is True Lilies edible?

No

### Is True Lilies toxic?

High

### What is True Lilies's lifecycle?

Perennial

## Where to spot

- [Schlosspark Idstein](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/schlosspark-idstein) — Hessen, DE · Park
- [Garnchayne Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/garnchayne-park) — Virginia, US · Park
- [Lenclair Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/lenclair-park) — Virginia, US · Park
- [Oga Quasi-National Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/oga-quasi-national-park) — JP · Park
- [Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/tottori-hanakairo-flower-park) — Chugoku, JP · Park

[View all places to see True Lilies](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/true-lilies)

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [True Lilies: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/true-lilies)