North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Lilium michauxii

Lilium michauxii Poir.

carolina lily, michaux’s lily

Synonym(s): Lilium carolinianum, Lilium fortunofulgidum, Lilium superbum var. carolinianum

Image ID: 9253
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: LIMI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lilium michauxii
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2017-12-17

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: LILIU
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Lilium
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Lily
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 110 species, of temperate northern hemisphere (especially e. Asia). Many taxonomic problems remain in this genus of showy ornamentals.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Adams & Dress (1982)=Z; Skinner & Sorrie (2002)=X; Wherry (1946)=Y; Skinner in FNA (2002a); Henry (1946); Tamura in Kubitzki (1998a).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: LILIAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Liliaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Lily Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: As here interpreted narrowly, the Liliaceae constitutes about 11 genera and 550 species, of the Northern Hemisphere. There has been much investigation and re-interpretation of evidence regarding the upper-level taxonomy of the Liliales, with strong suggestions that the broad Liliaceae recognized by Cronquist (1981) is artificial and polyphyletic. Cronquist (1981) himself concurs, at least to a degree: we still await a comprehensive reorganization of the lilies into several families more comparable to other recognized families of angiosperms. Dahlgren & Clifford (1982) and Dahlgren, Clifford, & Yeo (1985) synthesized an early phase in the modern revolution of monocot taxonomy. Since then, additional research, especially molecular (Duvall et al. 1993, Chase et al. 1993, Bogler & Simpson 1995, and many others more recently), has strongly validated the general lines (and many details) of Dahlgrens arrangement.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Chen et al. (2013); Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (1998, 2003, 2009); Tamura in Kubitzki (1998a). [also see AGAVACEAE, ALLIACEAE, ALSTROEMERIACEAE, AMARYLLIDACEAE, ASPARAGACEAE, COLCHICACEAE, HELONIADACEAE, HEMEROCALLIDACEAE, HOSTACEAE, HYACINTHACEAE, HYPOXIDACEAE, MELANTHIACEAE, NARTHECIACEAE, RUSCACEAE, SMILACACEAE, THEMIDACEAE, TOFIELDIACEAE, TRILLIACEAE, XEROPHYLLACEAE]

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect perennial from a bulb, found in dry upland forests on ridges and slopes.
STEMS: Stems unbranched, smooth.
LEAVES: Leaves in 1-4 whorls of 3-15 leaves each (a few alternate leaves), sessile, oblong-oval or oblong-lance-shaped, to 4 1/2 in. long but reduced upward, fleshy-thick, pale beneath, smooth.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers 1-4 nodding on long stalks arising from top of stem; orange; trumpet-shaped with 6 strongly recurved tepals, which are yellow and maroon-spotted toward the base. 6 dangling, rust-colored stamens cluster around the pistil.
FRUITS: Fruit an oval capsule.
COMMENTS: Flowers are strongly fragrant.
HEIGHT: 18 in.-3 1/2 feet

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Whorled
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Jul-Aug

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Orange to yellow flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
	x		x	x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Dry forests
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: The flowers of this native lily are orange to yellow or reddish in color with small brown spots in their throats. Each flower is about 3 inches in diameter. This species requires well-drained soil and can be found scattered along rocky woodland edges. Over time, this lily can produce a nice colony by means of its spreading rhizomes. Carolina lily or Lilium michauxii was named in honor of French botanist Andre Michaux who traveled widely throughout the SE. Carolina lily is the official North Carolina state wildflower

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 7
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 10
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
91	HORT	2009-10-30	Poythress	View
1089	HORT	2005-11-15	Wilbur-Brooks	View
1402	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View
1482	HORT	1997-11-06	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
90	2012-0062	2012-06-05	91	View
2092	1986-1892			View
4175	1992-0331			View
9120	2006-0232	2006-08-28	1482	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
119	90	17	NCBG staff	2012-05-01	View
120	90	16	Liloia	2012-05-01	View
121	90	15	Liloia	2012-05-01	View
122	90	12	NCBG staff	2012-05-01	View
3483	2092	189	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
6503	4175	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
11837	9120	132	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12466	90	20	Liloia	2012-05-01	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: LIMI
USDA Common Name: Carolina Lily
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lilium michauxii
COMMON NAME: Carolina Lily, Michaux’s Lily
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, GW, K, Tn, Va, W, WH3, WV, X, Y, Z; < L. michauxii - RAB (also see L. pyrophilum); = L. carolinianum Michaux - S]
PHENOLOGY: Jul-Aug; Sep-Oct.
HABITAT: Dry upland forests, ridges, slopes, and ridges.
COMMENTS: S. VA, e. TN, n. AL, c. MS, and e. LA south to s. SC, Panhandle FL, s. AL, s. MS, and s. LA.
RANGE MAP: Lilium michauxii.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Liliaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Lily Family)
SUMMARY: As here interpreted narrowly, the Liliaceae constitutes about 11 genera and 550 species, of the Northern Hemisphere. There has been much investigation and re-interpretation of evidence regarding the upper-level taxonomy of the Liliales, with strong suggestions that the broad Liliaceae recognized by Cronquist (1981) is artificial and polyphyletic. Cronquist (1981) himself concurs, at least to a degree: we still await a comprehensive reorganization of the lilies into several families more comparable to other recognized families of angiosperms. Dahlgren & Clifford (1982) and Dahlgren, Clifford, & Yeo (1985) synthesized an early phase in the modern revolution of monocot taxonomy. Since then, additional research, especially molecular (Duvall et al. 1993, Chase et al. 1993, Bogler & Simpson 1995, and many others more recently), has strongly validated the general lines (and many details) of Dahlgrens arrangement.
REFERENCE: Chen et al. (2013); Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (1998, 2003, 2009); Tamura in Kubitzki (1998a). [also see AGAVACEAE, ALLIACEAE, ALSTROEMERIACEAE, AMARYLLIDACEAE, ASPARAGACEAE, COLCHICACEAE, HELONIADACEAE, HEMEROCALLIDACEAE, HOSTACEAE, HYACINTHACEAE, HYPOXIDACEAE, MELANTHIACEAE, NARTHECIACEAE, RUSCACEAE, SMILACACEAE, THEMIDACEAE, TOFIELDIACEAE, TRILLIACEAE, XEROPHYLLACEAE]

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Lilium L. (Lily)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 110 species, of temperate northern hemisphere (especially e. Asia). Many taxonomic problems remain in this genus of showy ornamentals.
REFERENCE: Adams & Dress (1982)=Z; Skinner & Sorrie (2002)=X; Wherry (1946)=Y; Skinner in FNA (2002a); Henry (1946); Tamura in Kubitzki (1998a).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Lilium michauxii in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Lilium michauxii in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Lilium michauxii in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Lilium michauxii in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Lilium michauxii in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Lilium michauxii

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9253 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9254 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 9253 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)