Description
(syn. tigrinum)
This is a native of eastern Asia, from Korea, across China to Russia and Japan. It is one of several species known as “Tiger lily” but is the species most widely known by this name.
This is a tough plant, very easy to grow, extremely hardy, tolerant and so robust that it survives almost everywhere, though it thrives in fertile, humus-rich soils in sun or part shade.
It makes stems from 60-150 cm tall, clothed in green leaves with purple bulbils in the axils of the upper leaves. From late August to October, it makes a showy display of many strong orange, unscented blooms of Turk’s cap shape. The flowers are spotted all over in deep blood-red which displays beautifully on the recurved petals.
It is widely cultivated in China for its edible bulbs which also figure in Chinese medicine. The plant is edible though the pollen is said to be toxic to humans (who ever tried this in the first place and why?). I have also seen said that all parts of the plant are fatal to cats if consumed.
