Lilium is a large genus in the Liliaceae family. Information and pictures of species on the PBS wiki are found on section pages. This wiki page is for the Martagon Section. Other sections and hybrids are linked below.
Most martagons have delayed hypogeal germination. This means that in the first summer, the seed will turn into a micro-bulb with a root. The cotyledon never occurs above ground but acts as an umbilical cord between the seed and the micro-bulb. The micro-bulb will then wait for a longer period of cold temperatures and when the temperature in the second spring again increases it will send up a true leaf. The rationale behind this might be that it allows the seedling to emerge quickly in the spring before the trees start robbing the flora on the ground of light and water, especially since the radicle needs time to find its way between the soil particles, this way it is all set to go the second spring. Cardiocrinum, Trillium and Leucojum vernum germinate in a similar way. See Lilium Seeds for pictures of Lilium martagon seeds germinating.
American Section a-m - American Section n-z - Asiatic Section a-c - Asiatic Section d-k - Asiatic Section l-o - Asiatic Section p-z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section - Lilium Hybrids - Lilium Index
Lilium distichum Nakai ex Kamib. occurs in China, Korea and eastern Siberia. In the literature it is sometimes described as having only two flowers. In cultivation it can have more. The flowers are very characteristic with uneven distribution of tepals. It has only one whorl of leaves and there is often a pause in growth before the flowering stem develops from the bud in the middle of the whorl. At that stage it looks a little like a Paris. It is a woodlander that can grow well in rather dark places. It is also very frost hardy. Like most martagons, it has delayed hypogeal germination. Photos 1-2 by Göte Svanholm. Photo 3 of a bulb by Pontus Wallstén.
Lilium hansonii Leichtlin ex D.D.T.Moore is native to Korea. It will grow to well over 120 cm (4 feet) but many years will be as short as 60 cm (24 inches). The foliage is whorled; the florets are sweetly scented, yellow with brown spotting, down facing and basically flat faced. It crosses with various Lilium martagon varieties. It does not suffer late spring frosts well and when hit by a late frost, it will take a couple years to recover. Martagons are self sterile and as a result all Lilium hansonii grown in Europe were the same clone for nearly a century. That clone is more orange and has more flattish flowers than the majority of the currently available plants. It is now becoming rare. Photos 1-3 were taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden. Photos 4-6 were submitted by Darm Crook.
Photo of a bulb by Pontus Wallstén.
Lilium hansonii red form This form was grown from RHS seed exchange where it was listed as wild collected. It is typical in all ways to the type except for the colour, a very dark ox blood red. It also appears to be a little more vigorous than the type which may imply hybrid status. Two photos and text by Darm Crook.
Lilium martagon L. is native to central Europe through northern Asia to Mongolia and Korea. It may be slow to establish, but is very long lived and can form large clumps; with its many varieties, it is another fine lily. There are two subspecies recognized in 2022, but although many varieties and forms have been named over the years, they no longer are recognized. We will include some of them here since people who still grow this species are interested in different forms. This species has naturalized in Quebec, Canada and is widely grown in cool winter areas of North America. It has a Turk's Cap form, rather thick petals, and the scales of the bulb are yellow. It is very free flowering with up to 50 flowers on a stem with whorled leaves that can reach 60 inches in height. It remains in flower for a long time and can be grown in sun or part shade where it will be shorter. The species is pale to deep (rather dull) pink but the forms can be found with yellow, purplish-pink, red or carmine flowers. Photos from Janos Agoston.
Photos below were taken in a garden setting by Darm Crook. The last one is one he calls Lilium martagon var. cevennes. There does not appear to be a record that this name was ever published. It is a pink variety that is a bit lighter than the type
Lilium martagon var. album Weston has two forms, a short and a tall one. The short form grows from 25 to 37 cm (12 to 18 inches) tall with up to 12 florets per stem that never fully recurve and are almost a L. hansonii flower form. The tall form will grow up to 1.18 m (4 feet) with up to 64, maybe more, fully recurved florets. The first two photos are of L. martagon variety album short form; the next four photo are of the tall form taken in a garden setting by Darm Crook.
Lilium martagon var. cattaniae Vis. is the deepest red/wine of all the various martagon forms. Photo by Darm Crook.
Lilium martagon var. hirsutum (Mill.) Weston is from Europe (Southern Alps). Grown from seed and photographed by Ron Moodycliffe.
Lilium martagon var. roseum is a name not found in the major data bases, but there is Lilium martagon f. roseum Beck that is listed as a synonym of Lilium martagon. The pink shade of this variety is that of a wild rose. Photo by Darm Crook.
Lilium medeoloides A.Gray is from eastern Russia, Korea, Japan and north China. Photos from iNaturalist were taken by belvedere04 in Japan in August and shared under a CC BY-NC license.
Photos by Pontus Wallstén.
Lilium tsingtauense Gilg is native to China and Korea. It will grow up to 95 cm (3 feet) tall. The florets are orange, upfacing, unpleasantly scented, and flat with heavy to almost no spotting of dark orange to brown. The foliage is set in whorls and (most plants) will show a marbling of various shades of green. It will cross with martagons and martagon hansonii hybrids. The first five photos were submitted by DarmCrook; photo 6 is of a bulb by Pontus Wallstén.
Photos and text by Göte Svanholm. Lilium tsingtauense as described in floras has starry upright flowers and usually only one whorl of leaves. The one found in Korea fits the description well and has a very distinct shape of the inflorescence. Unlike most uprights, which have umbels, it branches out in a way that is unique in the genus. It has long pedicels that turn upwards. The stem is often not straight but bifurcates. This form is rarely found in cultivation. Tsingtauense "of gardens" is a larger more showy plant with larger flowers that are not starry, not upright and slightly asymmetrical. It seems that this is the one supplied by Dutch bulb merchants. Both forms have normally only one whorl of leaves.
American Section a-m - American Section n-z - Asiatic Section a-c - Asiatic Section d-k - Asiatic Section l-o - Asiatic Section p-z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section - Lilium Hybrids - Lilium Index