Lily Family

The Lilies and Related Families

Northern White Colicroot Swamp-pink Orange Day-lily Virginia Spiderwort

What are they?

The Lily Family was, at one time, a very large family of plant species, but these days most botanists recognise a number of closely-related families. For ease of reference, these new families are kept together here. Some of the species included are not particularly closely related to the Lily Family, but are placed here as they often look similar in their leaves and general appearance.

Identification

Plants in this group usually have either long, grass-like leaves, or leaves arranged in whorls around the stem. Flower parts are typically arranged in threes and sixes. Many species are readily identifiable by their flowers, in others, attention to leaf and/or stem detail may be necessary.

Though the word petal is used here in reference to the colored part of the flower, in fact, members of this group have flowers that don't have the usual sepals and petals but have a single group of parts which are normally called tepals. The tepals may be free (appearing like six petals) or fused to form a tube-shaped structure.

Goldencrest Lophiola aurea

A scarce species of acid sphagnum bogs in southeastern North America which reaches its northernmost limit in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Rare in Cape May County but can be found in old cranberry bogs. Flowers late June to July. The densely white-woolly stems are distinctive and most noticeable after flowering.


Habit	Flower close-up	Leaves	Seed heads

Northern White Colicroot Aletris farinosa

Frequent in sandy, open fields and other dry areas. Superficially resembles an orchid but note that all six petals are of equal size and shape. Note also the six orange stamens. Flowers June to July.


Habit	Flowers rough-textured on outside	Basal leaves yellowish-green	Seed heads rough like flowers

Swamp-pink Helonias bullata

A once frequent but now scarce and still declining plant of old, wet woodland. The pink spikes of this plant are a fabulous sight in spring, but all too rarely seen. Flowers April to May.


Flower spike	Flowers pink with maroon center	Leaves emerge at flowering time	Seed capsule

Green False-helleborine Veratrum viride

A rare plant in Cape May county, for many years only known from a single location. Typically grows in rich, wet woods, often among stands of Skunk-cabbage, where its leaves could easily be overlooked. Flowers late May to June. Note that this plant is often erroneously called 'false hellebore' in many books; false-helleborines are named for their similarity to the helleborine orchids, not the dissimilar hellebores.


Flower spike	Flower close-up	Leaves	Leaf base and stem

Indian Cucumber-root Medeola virginiana

(Indian Cucumber) An unusual-looking plant that is easily recognised once found, though its small flowers are hard to spot in the dappled light of the shady woodland floors that it favors. A plant of deep, loamy soils which is more common further north in New Jersey than it is in Cape May county. Flowers late May to June. Stems have two whorls of leaves, the lower whorl with more leaflets than the upper whorl. Non-flowering plants are often found, which only have the lower whorl of leaves.


Habit	Flowering stem	Flower	Lower leaf whorl


Upper whorl with unripe berry	Ripe berry

Tiger Lily Lilium lancifolium

Native of Asia and occasionally found as a garden throughout. Flowers July. Flowers usually orange with black spots, but may be any shade of red, orange, yellow or white. Plants produce small, dark bulbils along the stem in the leaf axils; these drop off and root into the ground to produce new plants.


Habit	Flower	Leaves long and pointed	Bulbils in leaf axils

American Turk's-cap Lily Lilium superbum

Turk's-cap Lilies are so spectacular that it's hard to believe that they really are native here and not some exotic garden escape. Leaves are in whorls up the stem and flower color varies but is usually a shade of orange or red. Stems can reach five to six feet in height. Likes damp areas in woodland clearings. Flowers late June to August.


Habit	Note reflexed petals	Most flowers heavily spotted with purple	Seed pod

Yellow Star-grass Hypoxis hirsuta

A cheerful spring plant with bright yellow flowers, found in sandy fields and woodland clearings. Leaves are very grass-like but distinctly covered in silky white hairs. Flowers late April to June.


Habit	Six-petalled flowers	Flowers green on the back	Leaves with long white hairs

Sessile-leaved Bellwort Uvularia sessilifolia

Occasional in damp, loamy soils in deciduous woodland. Flowers April to May. Rather similar to the solomon's-seals but flowers are solitary and without green markings.


Habit	Flower	Stems often forked into two	Seed capsule

Perfoliate Bellwort Uvularia perfoliata

Rare, but perhaps easily overlooked in damp, loamy soils in deciduous woodland. Flowers April to May. Very similar to Sessile-leaved Bellwort, but easily told by the way the leaves attach to the stem.


Habit	Flower	Leaf bases enclose stem	Seed capsule

Common Asparagus Asparagus officinalis

(Garden Asparagus) Introduced from Europe and now widely naturalized. Not uncommon in all kinds of open, usually grassy, places. Flowers May to June. Contrary to popular belief, asparagus is not a grass, but a member of the lily family. The part we eat is the young, emerging stem, before the leaves have fully developed.


Flowers small and easily missed	Typical spring shoot	Mature leaves	Fruit

Orange Day-lily Hemerocallis fulva

Though fabulous as a garden plant, this Asian species has escaped into the wider countryside and has become a problematic invasive alien in some places. This is a very common species in parts of Cape May County, especially south of Cape May Canal. Seed pods rarely ripen here and the plant mostly spreads by underground rhizomes. Flowers June to July.


Habit	Flowers held well above the leaves	Close-up of flower	Leaves

Meadow Garlic Allium canadense

An uncommon species which favors damp grassy habitats on the edges of wetland areas. Flowers May to June. As with many Allium species, the flowering heads may consist of either true flowers or bulbils, or a mixture of both. Differs from the much more common Wild Onion by having pink scapes (the outer covering of the flower head).


Flowering head	Flower head close-up	Flowerhead scape is pink	Bulbils

Wild Onion Allium vineale

(Field or Wild Garlic) A widespread and often abundant alien introduction from Europe, found commonly on roadsides, fields and other open areas. Flowers June to August. Leaves, which are tubular like those of Chives, appear first and usually wither before flowering time. Flowers emerge from a papery sheath called a scape. This plant has an unusual appearance as most flowering spikes have the flowers replaced by bulbils, which develop into young plants before dropping off. Flowers may be white or pale pinkish.


Head with bulbils	Head emerging from scape	Head with flowers	Leaves often curly

Garlic Chives Allium tuberosum

Native to Asia but a popular plant for the herb garden. Though this species has the potential to spread readily into the wider countryside, it is so far only been found as a roadside weed in Cape May Point. Flowers August to September. Flowers pure white and appearing later in the year than other onion species. Leaves broad and grass-like, but fleshy and narrowly triangular in cross-section.


Habit	Flowers	Head emerging from scape	Leaves flattened

Common Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis

Introduced from Europe. An occasional escape from gardens, found in odd spots here and there where garden refuse is deposited. Sometimes spreads naturally from planted areas, especially in cemeteries. Flowers February to March. A very early flowerer, occasionally appearing as early as January. Flowers appear to be three-petalled, but are actually six-petalled with the inner three fused into a tube. Often grown as a rather lumpy-looking double-flowered form which has little of the charm and grace of the wild parent. Leaves continue to grow for a while after flowering and often turn to one side.


Flower	Double-flowered form	Leaves	Seed pods

Spring Starflower Tristagma uniflorum

Not officially recorded as established in Cape May County, this South American species is often grown as a garden bulb and could be found as an escape from cultivation in built up areas. Colonies of this plant can currently be found spreading from flower borders into neighboring grass at Cape May Point. Flowers late April to May.


Usually forms dense clumps	Tepals pale lilac fading to white	Tepals joined into a tube at base

Common Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus forms and hybrids

Not officially recorded as established in Cape May County, daffodils occasionally may be found as a result of garden waste being deposited on waste ground or roadsides. Occasionally, bulbs may be planted for commemorative reasons and appear to be growing wild. Flowers late April to May. Most daffodils grown in gardens these days are cultivated forms of the European Wild Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus. However, much selective breeding has produced a huge range of forms, many of which bear little resemblance to the original species. They vary in color and size and may be single- or double-flowered. Deliberate crossing with other daffodil species to produce hybrids has also added to the variety.


Cultivated form	Cultivated form	Hybrid Daffodil	Double-flowered form

Pheasant's-eye Daffodil Narcissus poeticus

(Poet's Narcissus) As with Common Daffodil, this species is not officially recorded as occurring in a natural state in New Jersey, but is sometimes found where it has been planted or discarded and can appear to be wild. Flowers early May. There is a certain amount of variation in the appearance of Pheasant's-eye Daffodils, largely due to selective breeding to produce different colors and forms, as well as artificial hybridization with other species. Many plants in cultivation are of the form 'Actaea' which has larger flowers with wider petals than the true species. The plants here are rather pale in the center and are not entirely typical of the true species.


Habit	Flower

Carolina Redroot Lachnanthes caroliniana

Local but can be very common where it occurs, in cranberry bogs and swampy grassland. Flowers tend to open just a few at a time so the plant could never be described as 'showy'. The whole plant is covered in white, woolly hairs. Flowers June to August.


Habit	Flowering head	Leaf base sheaths stem	Fruiting head

Asiatic Day-flower Commelina communis

Though there are native species of day-flower in North America, the only species known from Cape May County is this one, a native of Asia. Occurs in a wide range of habitats, but especially shady field edges and roadsides. Flowers June to September, occasionally later.


Habit	Flower with two blue petals and white bottom petal	Leaves	Leaf

Virginia Spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana

Listed as native in New Jersey but currently in Cape May county, only known from roadsides and waste corners where garden refuse may have been dumped. A popular garden plant. Flowers May to July.


Habit	Flower	Flowers	Leaf

Cape May Plants An Identification Guide

The Lilies and Related Families

What are they?

Identification

Species List

Cape May Plants
An Identification Guide