Lilium neilgherense
iain@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org (Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:20:58 PDT)

Ref Jim's posting on this and two other taxa of subtropical Lilium

I have all three taxa in the botanical Lilium conservation collection
here Jim.

While noting that this taxon Lilium neilgherense is in some instances
treated as a synonym for Lilium wallichianum it appears sufficiently
different to, in my view, warrant full species status however it
undoubtedly does have a very distant in geological terms [and time]
relationship however they are I would suggest true species, if we
ever get a precise definition for that from amongst the lumpers and
splitters. Whether or not they are able to be hybridised I cannot say
because this year apart from having asynchronistic flowering I was
unable to undertake artificial pollination and in any event ambient
air temps were so low this Spring insect activity has led to very
poor to almost non existent natural pollination. Generally I would
regard myself as a 'lumper'. In the main L. neilgherense is an
obvious white taxon but plants tending to forma rosea have been
reported in nature but I have not seem them. Due to agricultural
pressure pushing tea plantations ever further uphill in the area of
the main distribution this lily is under threat, another source of
pressure is the fondness of wild pigs - Sus scrufa who positively
adore the bulbs and will grub out a whole colony overnight unless
growing in boulder areas. Seed is the usual route for propagation
however I found that my stock appear to be clonal and sent to me as
waxy white bulbils produced by their wandering underground stems much
as for example with L. lankongense.

In respect to the two Japanese taxa LL. alexandrae and nobilissimum
these are very much distinct in a number of characters but no doubt
their evolutionary relationships are not dissimilar to that of the
above Indian taxa. These latter two have another distant relative,
even more subtropical in L. philippinense from further south.

There is a general dearth of seed here in northern Europe from
amongst most of the geophytes owing to cold Spring weather but
perhaps it might be possible to help next year if the gods are kind,
we are all getting rather fed up with the struggle caused by the
return to colder climates, until recently it has been possible here
to get away with quite a lot including Lilium nepalense going native
despite lack of snow cover during a - 22 C ground frost episode last
January but up they came again this year until the deer nobbeled
them. Venison pie was little consolation.

Iain