Lilium identification and strange growths

[marko11]

Good day everyone,

 I was hoping that someone may be able to help me with a small query. In February of this year I was given 3 bulbs by a friend, lilium bulbs. I was told they were a deep red in colour, and planted them a short while later. The lily's have since grown and bloomed, however in a deep orange colour with black markings/spots towards the centre, almost flourescent and quite striking. They have now done flowering and I was about to move the pot containing them to another location less promminent when I noticed some rather odd growths on their stems. Initially I thought they appeared to be new flower buds growing out of the stem, which would be unusual. Now however I notice an almost white growth coming out of one of the 'buds', and elongated thin leaves coming from two other 'buds'. I have uploaded some pictures in the hope that someone may be able to help me to perhaps indentify the type of lily, and indeed what these strange growths are. I'm unsure if it is normal, however I have never seen this before. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 Thank you in advance.

[Martin Baxendale]

It looks quite a lot like an old 'mid-century' asiatic lily hybrid called 'Enchantment' raised by Jan de Graff in the 1950s, not as widely grown now as when I first grew it as a teenager in the 1960s.

The growths are stem bulbils. When they come away from the stem easily, it's time to pot them up for growing on.

[marko11]

Hi Martin,

Thank you for the reply. That's great to have some idea what the lily is, and indeed what the growths are. I had never seen this before so I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Certainly sounds like it though, and a wonderful supprise now that the plant has finished flowering.

Thank you again for sharing your expertise Martin.

Kind regards,

[Maggi Young]

Hi, "marko", welcome to the forum. Quite a few liliums do this stem bulbil production..... nice to get this extra bonus, isn't it? !

[marko11]

Hi Maggi,
Thank you for the welcome. Having read Martins' response I have done a little research into these bulbils, and indeed it has really opened my eyes. I have always liked the various kinds of lilium but they have now become alot more interesting. I'm quite looking forward to seeing how these little bulbils turn out

[Alessandro.marinello]

Lilium sp. China  unknown

[Martin Baxendale]

Lilium sp. China  unknown

Looks like a good dark-flowered form of L. mackliniae, unless someone more knowledgeable thinks otherwise.

[Alessandro.marinello]

Martin
many thanks  for identification

[Lesley Cox]

And very nice too. A good, wide open form of mackliniae.

[Paul T]

Alessandro,

That is a stunner of a Lilium.  I love the wide open form to it and great colour.  Beautiful!

Marko,

Welcome!  Depending on parentage some Liliums produce stem bulbils like that easily, and sometimes they react to stress and produce them.  I once accidentally decapitated the flower buds off an Asiatic lilium that had never produced bulbils before and the result was that it put all that effort it was intending to put into the buds into producing stem bulbils instead.  I've never had the guts to deliberately do it with others to find out whether they will as well.  I like the flowers too much, and it is SO long to wait another year for them.    If you leave them on there until they are to the stage where they are pretty much falling off by themselves they will do really well for you and be flowering within a few years.  A great way to multiply stock of a favourite Lilium if it produces them.

Again, welcome to the forums. 

[gote]

Lilium maclinae does not grow in China.

My maclinaes do not have as prominent stamina nor do they have as pronounced curl-back tip of the tepals.
If it comes from China I would suggest an unspotted form of amoenum - growing unusually well.

'Enchantment' has more narrow tepals and is more reddish. I do not remember having seen any bulbils on it.
If we believe it to be a mid-century hybrid it would be 'Harmony' which is more orange and has wider tepals. I do not remember any bulbils on that one either.
Any of these can be induced to form bulbils if they are mistreated but these look very well treated.
I would perhaps guess the bulbiliferous form of Lilium bulbiferum. They have these bulbils always - starting whitish becoming brown when mature and ready to detach.

Göte

[Martin Baxendale]

Gote, I just checked the colour photo of Enchantment in Carl Feldmaier's 'Lilies' book (1970) and you're right; it does have narrower, less overlapping petals. So not Enchantment then. I seemed to recall getting stem bulbils on Enchantment, but it was a very long time ago and my memory is probably playing tricks on me.

[Alessandro.marinello]

the bulb comes from China, and had to be of color similar to the red , the dimensions of the bulb is of cm 2,5 in diameter, did not think arrived to the flower

[Martin Baxendale]

the bulb comes from China, and had to be of color similar to the red , the dimensions of the bulb is of cm 2,5 in diameter, did not think arrived to the flower

Sorry, I wasn't thinking too clearly about the origin of the bulb and was just going on appearances, though I did think the same thing as Lesley - that it was an unusually wide-open flower shape for mackliniae. If the bulb was collected in China, then of course not Mackliniae as Gote states. The bulb size also sounds quite small, which would back up Gote's suggestion of L. amoenum, which I understand is quite a small thing. I don't know if the bulb colour is right for amoenum, but I'm sure Gote will know. 

[gote]

The colour is right for amoenum even if they usually are spotted. Size is right too. What suggests amoenum rather than any of the other small pink Chinese is the curly tips of the tepals. What is not right for amoenum is the open flower. Henricii has more or less this flower shape and is unspotted but has dark blotches in the throat and usually multiflowered.
I am afraid that China is full of lilies that are not sufficiently known to us.
Göte