Turk's Cap Lily

(Lilium superbum)

 

   

 

Color Photograph: NRCS, Plants Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum L.)

Identification: Flowers orange to red-orange, nodding, with the petals strongly curved backward (reflexed). Interior of the petals spotted with black and the center of the flower with a distinctive green star pattern. Stamens strongly project beyond the lip of the flower. Leaves in whorls. Plant 3 to 8 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout most of the eastern United States.

Habitat: Turk's Cap Lily is found in meadows and wet ground around ponds and lakes.

Flowering period: July to August.

Similar Species: Turk's Cap Lily is most likely to be confused with Tiger Lily. The leaves of the Tiger Lily are arranged alternately along the stem, not in a whorl.

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