STITCH LINES...... Ramblings on life as a quilter, stitcher, traveler, photographer, gardener and lover of books, cats and fine chocolate....

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Wildfower Wednesday



Once again it's time to feature a wildflower and this week's is a rare treat. The Canada Lily. I know of only one area where this lily grows each year and there seem to be fewer of them each year. Please do not pick or dig this plant if you find it. It is on the endangered species list of COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). Bulbs or seeds can be purchased from Lily breeders...

The Canada Lily (Lilium canadense), also called the Meadow Lily or Wild Yellow Lily is native to eastern North America and grows in moist fields and meadows. You can see it is happy here among daisies, purple vetch, and yellow whorled loosestrife. It grows from 2-6 feet tall, with a number of nodding trumpet-shaped flowers at the top of the stalk. The flowers are yellow-orange with dark spots. There are 3 petals and 3 petal-like sepals which arch outward but not backward, and 6 stamens with brown anthers. In this area it usually blooms in mid to late July, but like everything this year, it seems to be a few weeks early.
In the past, flower buds and roots were gathered by natives to treat stomach ailments. White-tailed deer also like munching on this plant, not to mention those darn lily beetles...
Have you found an interesting wildflower this week?

Peace,
Linda

"Touch the earth, love the earth, honor the earth; her plains, her valleys, her hills and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places." ~ Henry Beston


5 comments:

Catskill Quilter said...

These are really lovely, Linda! I have never seen them before. Thanks for your gorgeous photos!

GailM. said...

Those are so beautiful Linda. I see lots of them in the fields on the way to the cottage. They are usually in groups of two or three. Love them. So they're wild, eh. Can they be transplanted.

Linda H said...

No, do not try to transplant them- that's why they're disappearing....

Pamela Gordon said...

Beautiful! I noticed some growing in a ditch along our road. I should get a pic of them. The landowners dug a new drainage ditch from the road culvert last year but the lilies came back! I didn't know they were endangered. Thanks for the info on them.

JennyPennyPoppy said...

A gorgeous find and beautiful photo Linda. The Prairie Lilies too are now hard to find and when I chance upon one it's very special and memorable.

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