Lily

The lily is a flowering plant known for its large, showy blooms and tall stems. True lilies belong to a group of plants called the genus Lilium. They grow from bulbs, which are round underground storage parts that look a bit like onions. Lilies are found wild across much of the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere, from North America to Europe to Asia. People also grow them in gardens all over the world.

A lily flower has six petal-like parts arranged around a center. In the middle stand six long stalks called stamens, tipped with pollen, plus one taller part called the pistil. The flowers come in almost every color except true blue. Some lilies face up toward the sky. Others hang down like bells, and a few curl their petals back so far they almost touch the stem.

Lilies can be surprisingly tall. Most garden lilies grow three to four feet high, but the giant Himalayan lily can reach 10 feet, taller than the ceiling in most rooms. Its bulb is the size of a softball.

Many lily flowers smell strong and sweet, especially at night. That scent is meant to attract moths and other insects that fly in the dark. The pollen rubs onto their bodies, and they carry it to the next flower. Some lilies even heat up their own petals slightly to spread the smell farther.

Not every flower called a "lily" is actually a true lily. Water lilies, daylilies, calla lilies, and lilies of the valley all have the word "lily" in their names, but they belong to different plant families. Plant scientists put them in separate groups based on their flowers, leaves, and roots. The name "lily" stuck to many plants long before scientists sorted them out.

Lilies show up often in human stories and art. Ancient Greeks linked the white lily to the goddess Hera. In Christian paintings, the white Madonna lily often stands for purity. The fleur-de-lis, a stylized lily shape, has been a royal symbol in France for almost a thousand years. In China, lily bulbs are eaten in soups and are given as gifts at weddings, where their name sounds like a phrase meaning "happy union for a hundred years."

Lilies are beautiful, but gardeners with cats have to be careful. Even drinking water from a vase that held lilies can poison a cat.