Kinds of Lily Flowers

Versatile, hardy lilies bloom in almost every temperate and tropical climate in the world. They may be monarchs of the gardens or grow in short clusters. All "true" lily flowers have six petals, bloom on a single stem and come in a wide variety of colors. Eight horticultural divisions organize lilies by origin and growth habits. Each of these groups contains several variations of flower types.

Upfacing

Flowers are generally very open or curved, so that water cannot collect in the flower, and face upward as they bloom. Asiatic and Oriental hybrid, as well as species (or wild) groups, contain many upfacing-flowering varieties.

Outfacing

The traditional "Easter lily" faces straight out from the main stem: flowers may be open, trumpets or "recurved" and many, like the florist's favorite, "stargazer," have a musky fragrance.

Pendant

The centers of the woodland martagon and American "tiger lily" point downward, as if hanging from their stalks like jewels on pendants.

Trumpet

Trumpet, Aurelian, longiflorum and Candidum hybrid groups all contain long, gently curved flowers whose throats often looks as if they're made of velvet or wax. Many trumpet-shaped hybrids have a subtle sweet fragrance.

Recurved

Tiger lilies and "Turk's cap" lilies have petals that curve gracefully from the center of the flower either partly or completely backward to the stem, a pattern common also to martagons.

In Name Only

Daylilies, water lilies, calla lilies, Peruvian lilies and miracle lilies are plants from other families that look like true lilies in either growth or flower; most grow from rhizomes or corms instead of bulbs.

Resources

• Lily Groups
• Selecting Lilies for Your Garden