natural herbs
Lilium distichum

Herb latin name: Lilium distichum

Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Edible parts of Lilium distichum:

Bulb - cooked. The bulb can be up to 4cm in diameter. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Young leaves and buds. No more details are given.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Bulb

Height:

100 cm
(3 ¹/₄ foot)

Flowering:

July

Habitat of the herb:

Moist and shady broad-leaved woodlands. Forested slopes, forest margins, hillsides along streams, 200 - 1800 metres in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces.

Propagation of Lilium distichum:

Seed - delayed hypogeal germination. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant. Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out.

Cultivation of the herb: