Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Lilium
Species: L. formosanum
Binomial name: Lilium formosanum
Common name: Taiwanese lily, Taiwan lily, Formosa lily, Trumpet lily, St Joseph’s lily,
Lilium formosanum is a trumpet flowered lily endemic to Taiwan. It is an upright herbaceous plant with perennial underground bulbs producing annual shoots that usually grows >1 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 2 m in height. The stems are erect and unbranched and mostly glabrous. They are mostly dark green in colour, but are often somewhat purplish-brown towards the base.
The alternately arranged stalkless leaves are 7.5-20 cm long and 5-10 mm wide and are elongated or linear in shape and generally become smaller towards the top of the stems. They are hairless with entire margins and acute apices.
The flowers are funnel-shaped (12-20 cm long) have six large 'petals'. They are mostly white are usually flushed with mauve or reddish-purple on the outside. Its cylindrical seed capsules are 5-9 cm long and 1-2 cm wide.
This species reproduces by seed and also vegetatively by bulbs. The winged seeds are dispersed by wind and water, and the seeds and bulbs may be spread in dumped garden waste.
L. formosanum is an environmental weed, forming colonies in the wild. It is common in northern New Zealand including the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty. On the Westcoast, it also found from South Taranaki to Wellington. L. formosanum is also regarded as a major environmental weed on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. It is salt-tolerant and has become naturalised in roadside areas and dunes.
A pure white form.
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The alternately arranged stalkless leaves
The anthers on their filaments and the sticky stigma.
The stigma.
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