medicinal herbs
Lilium wallichianum
 

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb latin name: Lilium wallichianum

Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Medicinal use of Lilium wallichianum:

The dried bulb scales are demulcent. They are used like salep (obtained from various species of orchids, especially Orchis spp.) in the treatment of pectoral complaints.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Open slopes and grassland, 1200 - 2000 metres. Moist shady places at elevations of 1100 - 2000 metres in Nepal.

Edible parts of Lilium wallichianum:

Bulb - cooked. Boil and roasted as a vegetable. It is usually dried first. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - Immediate epigeal germination. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks. 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 in 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 Lilium wallichianum:

Open slopes and grassland, 1200 - 2000 metres. Moist shady places at elevations of 1100 - 2000 metres in Nepal.

Known hazards of Lilium wallichianum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.