natural herbs
Lilium tsingtauense

Herb latin name: Lilium tsingtauense

Synonyms: Lilium medeoloides

Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Edible parts of Lilium tsingtauense:

Bulb - cooked. The bulb is up to 4m in diameter. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Young leaves and stems - cooked. Eating the leaves and stems severely harms the vitality of the bulb and is not recommended.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Bulb

Height:

120 cm
(4 feet)

Flowering:

July

Habitat of the herb:

Moist shady positions in thin woods, margins of thickets and amongst tall grasses. Sunny forested slopes, bushy and grassy places at elevations of 100 - 400 metres.

Propagation of Lilium tsingtauense:

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: