Columbia Lily
Lilium columbianum
Lilium columbianum is a plant of the genus Lilium (Lilium ) in the section Pseudolirium.
Description
The small, deep-seated onion has thick, white scales; from it is the plant from one up to 150 centimeters tall expectant, sometimes waxy shiny stalks; which is occupied in the lower half of one to nine whorls of three to 25 lanceolate leaves.
At one panicle bears Lilium columbianum in June- July, several yellow- orange, turks collar-shaped flowers. The hermaphrodite flowers are triple. The six identically shaped bracts ( tepals ) are strongly recurved and 3.5 to 6.9 cm long. The flower is covered tightly with purple spots. Each flower has three carpels and six stamens. The 10 ° to 20 ° deviate from the flower axis filaments are green, the anthers pale yellow to yellow, and the pollen is orange. After flowering, the plant produces 2.2 to 5.4 cm long seed pods, each with 135-330 seeds from sprouting delayed - hypogeous.
Dissemination
Lilium columbianum is native to the United States, in Northern California, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Washington and Idaho, and British Columbia in Canada and has widely spread.
It grows on shrubs ( chaparral ), the macchia -like vegetation on the North American Pacific coast, between rocks or on the prairie or open forests at altitudes up to 1600 m.
Use
Among the Indians the onion of Lilium columbianum as food was, or dried and ground as a spice, often used with salmon roe. For many Indian tribes this lily was a staple.