2A00:23C5:8D98:E201:F934:49F0:4E32:E36D at 20:11, 25 October 2022

2022-10-25T20:11:01Z

New page

{{Short description|Species of lily}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Lilium longiflorum (Easter Lily).JPG
|genus = Lilium
|species = longiflorum
|authority = [[Carl Peter Thunberg|Thunb.]]
}}

'''''Lilium longiflorum''''' (Japanese: テッポウユリ, ''Teppōyuri''), often called the '''Easter lily''', is a plant endemic to both Taiwan and [[Ryukyu Islands]] ([[Japan]]). ''[[Lilium formosanum]]'', a closely related species from [[Taiwan]], has been treated as a variety of Easter lily in the past. It is a stem rooting lily, growing up to {{convert|1|m|abbr=on}} high. It bears a number of trumpet shaped, white, fragrant, and outward facing flowers.

==Features==
Plants tend to grow from about {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1|m|abbr=on}} tall. They have long oval leaves and the vein enters the horizontal direction. From April to June, the plant's flowering season, it produces pure white flowers on top of the stem. The stem has a cylindrical shape, with a diameter of about {{convert|5|cm|abbr=on}}.

==Cultivation==
A [[variety (biology)|variety]] of it, ''L. longiflorum'' var. ''eximium'', native to the [[Ryukyu Islands]], is taller and more vigorous. It is extensively cultivated for [[cut flowers]]. It has irregular blooming periods in nature, and this is exploited in cultivation, allowing it to be forced for flowering at particular periods, such as [[Easter]]. However, it can be induced to flower over a much wider period. This variety is sometimes called the ''Bermuda lily'' because it has been much cultivated in [[Economy of Bermuda#Agriculture|Bermuda]].
[[File:Lilium longiflorum 'Pink-Heaven'.jpg|thumb|220px|Lilium longiflorum 'Pink-Heaven']]
[[File:Takasagoyuri 06z1458csv.jpg|thumb]]
[[File:Easter Lily -- Lilium longiflorum.jpg|thumb]]

==Use in Christian symbolism==
''Lilium longiflorum'' is known as the Easter lily because in [[Christianity]], it is a [[Christian symbolism|symbol]] of the [[resurrection of Christ]], which is celebrated during [[Eastertide]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Easter Lily Tradition and History|url=http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/easter-lily-tradition-and-history/|last=Collins|first=Cynthia|date=19 April 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 April 2014|quote=The Easter Lily is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches of all denominations, large and small, are filled with floral arrangements of these white flowers with their trumpet-like shape on Easter morning.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Schell|first=Stanley |title=Easter Celebrations|url=https://archive.org/details/EasterCelebrations|year=1916|publisher=Werner & Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/EasterCelebrations/page/n96 84]|quote=We associate the lily with Easter, as pre-eminently the symbol of the Resurrection.}}</ref> The "lily has always been highly regarded in the Church", as [[Jesus]] Himself referenced the flower, saying "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" ({{Bibleverse|Luke|12:27|KJV}}).<ref name="Soares1907">{{cite book|last=Soares|first=Theodore Gerald|title=The Week of Our Lord's Passion|url=https://archive.org/details/TheWeekOfOurLordsPassion|access-date=20 April 2014|year=1907|publisher=Hope Publishing Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/TheWeekOfOurLordsPassion/page/n220 210]|quote=The lily has always been highly regarding in the Church. Jesus said "Consider the lilies." The white lily is the symbol of purity. There is a peculiar fitness in the choice of this flower as an Easter emblem. Its bulb is hidden in the earth, and waits the coming of the Easter season to spring forth and blossom. Beautiful in itself it is still more beautiful in its sacred significance.}}</ref> Moreover, according to pious legend, "after [[Passion (Christianity)|Jesus' death]] and resurrection, some of these beautiful flowers were found growing in the [[Garden of Gethsemane]], where Jesus went to pray the night before His [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]]. Legend has it that these flowers sprung up where drops of Jesus' sweat fell as he prayed".<ref name="Hafer2006">{{cite book|last=Hafer|first=Todd|title=Easter A to Z|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWqeXi5C0-QC&pg=PT17|access-date=20 April 2014|year=2006|publisher=Hallmark Cards, Incorporated|isbn=9781595301079|page=17|quote=Easter lilies are, perhaps, the most famous holiday flowers of all time. Sometime after Jesus' death and resurrection, some of these beautiful flowers were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray the night before His crucifixion. Legend has it that these flowers sprung up where drops of Jesus' sweat fell as he prayed and became very sad about what was happening to Him.}}</ref><ref name="Swenson2002">{{cite book|last=Swenson|first=Allan A.|title=Flowers of the Bible: And How to Grow Them|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aMG20kK2jIC&pg=PA182|access-date=20 April 2014|year=2002|publisher=Kensington Publishing Corporation|isbn=9780806523149|page=182|quote=Christian tradition also says that lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony.}}</ref> In many [[Christianity|Christian]] [[church (building)|church]]es, the [[chancel]] is adorned with Easter lilies throughout the [[Eastertide|Paschal season]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Luther League Review: 1936-1937|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GDTAAAAMAAJ|year=1936|quote=There were Easter lilies everywhere, on the platform in Sunday School, and the church was full of them, around the organ, along the chancel rail, inside the chancel, the whole front of the church seemed full of them.|publisher=Luther League of America}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Franklin|first=Estelle Eva |title=Home Science Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mNBOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA550|year=1906|publisher=Home Science Publishing Company|page=550|work=Lore of the Lily: Beautiful Traditions That are Associated With the Easter Flower-Its Universality|quote=The Easter lily, the emblem of the Christian church for centuries, is probably more largely used for decoration of altar and shrine throughout the civilized world, in the festival of the Resurrection, than all other flowers combined.}}</ref> A poem of the early 1900s titled ''Easter Lilies'' by [[Esther Saville Allen | Mrs. S.R. Allen]], delineates this custom:
{{quotation|Somewhere while the Easter lilies Swing their perfumed censers white, Softened rays of sunlight falling In lines aslant, and warm, and bright, Shall gild the altar, nave and chancel; Rest with tender roseate ray On the font, enwreathed with lilies For baptismal rites today. Another pilgrim on the journey From the cradle to the tomb, Shall receive a name and blessing While the Easter lilies bloom.|Mrs. S.R. Allen ([[Esther Saville Allen]])<ref name="Ludwig1906">{{cite book|last=Ludwig|first=O. C.|author2=S.R. Allen |title=Pictures and Poems of Arkansas|work=Easter Lilies|url=https://archive.org/details/picturesandpoem00ludwgoog|access-date=20 April 2014|year=1906|publisher=Sketch Book Publishing Co.|page=[https://archive.org/details/picturesandpoem00ludwgoog/page/n121 103]}}</ref>}}

==History==
In 1903, the USDA's Agricultural Research Services (ARS) started to distribute disease-free plant materials and seeds.

In [[Economy of Bermuda|Bermuda]], from the 1890s to the early 1900s, there was from over some 200 fields a thriving export trade of lily bulbs by sea to [[New York (state)|New York]]. A disease then started affecting the lilies: a virus was identified by [[Lawrence Ogilvie]], the Bermuda Government's first [[Plant pathologist|plant pathologist]] 1923 to 1928.

In 1924 [[Lawrence Ogilvie]] (age 25) saved the industry by identifying the problem to be not aphid damage as previously thought, and instituting controls in the fields and packing houses. There was a marked improvement in exporting 23 cases of lily bulbs in 1918 to 6043 cases in 1927 from the then 204 lily fields.<ref>October 1928 ''Monthly Bulletin of the Bermuda Department of Agriculture and Fisheries'' article by [[Lawrence Ogilvie]]</ref> With the disease eliminated by him, he saved the [[Economy of Bermuda|economy of Bermuda]] (lilies and early vegetables sent by ship to New York were then economically much more important for Bermuda than hotels and financial services now).

Lawrence Ogilvie was established by his skills as a successful young scientist, still in his 20s, when he had a 3-inch column describing his work published in 1927 in the world's premier scientific-journal [[Nature (journal)|''Nature'']].<ref name="Nature">{{cite journal |last1=Ogilvie |first1=Lawrence |title=An Important Virus Disease of Lilium longiflorum and its Varieties |journal=Nature |date=April 1927 |volume=119 |issue=2997 |pages=528 |doi=10.1038/119528b0 |s2cid=8937999 |url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v119/n2997/abs/119528b0.html |language=en |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

In 1929, USDA's Agricultural Research Services started a breeding program, and released one of the first dwarf cultivars for potted-plant production.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Easter Lilies and the Role of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center|url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/12000000/Partnering/LilySuccess.pdf|publisher=USDA-ARS}}</ref> Prior to USDA's effort, lily bulbs were mostly [[import]]ed from Japan until the 1940s. The supply of bulbs was suddenly cut off after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and Easter lilies became extremely valuable in the United States.

Currently, nearly all Easter lily bulbs used in North America are grown on coastal bottom lands in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, particularly in the town of [[Smith River, California]].

== Chemistry ==
The Easter lily is a rich source of [[steroid]]al [[glycoside]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Munafo | first1 = JP | title = Quantitative analysis of steroidal glycosides in different organs of Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.) by LC-MS/MS | journal = J Agric Food Chem | year = 2011 | volume = 59 | issue = 3 | pages = 995–1004 | doi = 10.1021/jf1036454 | pmid = 21235207| last2 = Gianfagna | first2 = TJ}}</ref> It also contains bitter principles such as [[3,6′-diferuloylsucrose]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0031-9422(00)84572-0| title = Phenolic glycosides from Lilium longiflorum| journal = Phytochemistry| volume = 26| issue = 11| pages = 2965| year = 1987| last1 = Shoyama| first1 = Yukihiro| last2 = Hatano| first2 = Koji| last3 = Nishioka| first3 = Itsuo| last4 = Yamagishi| first4 = Takashi}}</ref>

==Toxicity==
''L. longiflorum'' is toxic to [[cat]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2460/javma.2002.220.49 |author=Langston CE |title=Acute renal failure caused by lily ingestion in six cats |journal=J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. |volume=220 |issue=1 |pages=49–52, 36 |date=January 2002 |pmid=12680447 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Hall J |title=Nephrotoxicity of Easter Lily (''Lilium longiflorum'') when ingested by the cat |journal=Proc Annu Meet Am Vet Int Med |volume=6 |page=121 |year=1992 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Volmer P |title=Easter lily toxicosis in cats |journal=Vet Med |page=331 |date=April 1999 |url=http://www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/p-toxbrief_0499.pdf }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The true mechanism of toxicity is undetermined, but it involves damage to the [[renal tubular]] epithelium (composing the substance of the kidney and secreting, collecting, and conducting urine), which can cause [[acute kidney injury]]. Veterinary help should be sought, as a matter of urgency, for any cat that is suspected of eating any part of the lily – including licking pollen that may have brushed onto its coat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2010/05/02/lily-poisoning-in-cats/|title=Lily poisoning in cats – Vet Help Direct Blog|date=2 May 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of plants known as lily]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|last1=Vidali|first1=Luis|last2=Hepler|first2=Peter K.|title=Characterization and localization of profilin in pollen grains and tubes of ''Lilium longiflorum''|journal=Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton|volume=36|issue=4|year=1997|pages=323–338|issn=0886-1544|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-0169(1997)36:4<323::AID-CM3>3.0.CO;2-6|pmid=9096955}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Holm|first1=Preben Bach|title=Three-dimensional reconstruction of chromosome pairing during the zygotene stage of meiosis in ''Lilium longiflorum'' (thunb.)|journal=Carlsberg Research Communications|volume=42|issue=2|year=1977|pages=103–151|issn=0105-1938|doi=10.1007/BF02906489|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Reiss|first1=Hans-Dieter|last2=Herth|first2=Werner|title=Calcium ionophore A 23187 affects localized wall secretion in the tip region of pollen tubes of ''Lilium longiflorum''|journal=Planta|volume=145|issue=3|year=1979|pages=225–232|issn=0032-0935|doi=10.1007/BF00454445|pmid=24317727|s2cid=24097777}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.the-genus-lilium.com/longiflorum.htm www.the-genus-lilium: ''Lilium longiflorum'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=240001418 ''Lilium longiflorum'' in Flora of China]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q311206}}

[[Category:Lilium|longiflorum]]
[[Category:National symbols of the Vatican City]]
[[Category:Flora of Japan]]
[[Category:Flora of the Ryukyu Islands]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Easter traditions]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Peter Thunberg]]

Lilium longiflorum - Revision history

2A00:23C5:8D98:E201:F934:49F0:4E32:E36D at 20:11, 25 October 2022