Lilium philadelphicum (Prairie Lily) - photos and description
Many Lilies blooming on a prairie hillside
General: Erect plants from bulbs with large, showy flowers. Plant glabrous. This wildflower is Saskatchewan's floral emblem.
Flowers: Orange to red, rarely yellow, flowering in late June and early July. Flowers consist of 3 petals, and 3 similar looking sepals, the sepals slightly narrower than the petals, the petals and sepals alternate around the flower. Flowers 1 to 5 per plant. We measured a flower to 9 cm in diameter.
Leaves: Leaves linear, in whorls of 4 to 6 near the top, alternate below. We measured a leaf at 4.5 cm long and 5 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 60 cm. Tallest plant in the above patch was 45 cm.
Habitat: Moist meadows, ditches, and wood groves.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: We took the above photos June 20th, the slopes of the Souris River Valley, 200 km southeast of our home in Regina, SK.