orange daylily

not listed

NNA - No Status Rank

SNA - No Status Rank

not listed

FACU - Facultative upland

UPL - Obligate upland

UPL - Obligate upland

Orange daylily is an erect, long-lived perennial rising from fleshy, fibrous roots and rhizomes. It often forms dense clumps that exclude other species.

Grasslike, linear, 1′ to 3′ long, yellowish-green leaves form a basal rosette. They are stalkless, hairless, and linear, tapering gradually to a point. They bend downward around the middle.

There is no central stem. One or more hairless flowering stalks (scapes) rise from the center of the basal rosette. They are leafless except for a few small bracts, and unbranched except near the top.

The inflorescence consists of a few small, elongated clusters of flowers at the end of each scape branch.

The large flowers are up to 4″ wide, funnel-shaped, and are not fragrant. They are semi-erect or horizontal—they do not hang downward. They consist of 6 tepals, 3 inner tepals (petals), with wavy margins, that are similar in appearance but somewhat broader than the 3 outer tepals (sepals), with smooth margins. The tepals spread outward and bend backward toward their tips. They are tannish-orange with a yellow throat separated by a band of red. They do not have spots near the throat. The flowers bloom during the day and last only a single day.

The fruit rarely developes, but when it does it is a 3-celled seed capsule. The seeds are infertile. The plant reproduces from root or rhizome fragments.

2′ to 4′

Tannish-orange with a yellow throat and a red stripe

Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) is taller, 3′ to 6′ at maturity, with a leafy central stalk. The leaves are whorled except near the top, where they are single, in pairs, or in partial whorls. The inflorescence is an umbel. The flowers are 2½″ to 3″ wide, Turk’s-cap shaped, with tepals that bend backward to their base. They are reddish-orange with yellowish-orange throat and purple or maroon spots near the throat. They last more than one day.

Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium) is taller, 3′ to 6′ at maturity, with a leafy central stalk. The flowers hang downward at the end of stout, widely spreading flower stems. They are Turk’s-cap shaped, reddish-orange with yellowish-orange throat and purple or maroon spots near the throat. They last more than one day.

Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum) is shorter, 1′ to 3′ at maturity. It has 1 to 3 flowers at the top of a leafy stem. The leaves are 2″ to 4″ long. The flowers are 2½″ wide, widely bell shaped, and erect. The tepals are spoon-shaped, erect, and flaring, and bend backward slightly toward their tips. They do not touch near the base. They are bright orange or reddish-orange with yellow throat and purple spots near the throat. They last more than one day.

Gardens, woodland edges, open forests, stream banks, roadsides. Full or partial sun.

June to August

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 28, 29, 30.

Native to Asia and India. Introduced, escaped from cultivation, and naturalized in North America.

The genus Hemerocallis was formerly placed in the family Liliaceae. Under the APG I system in 1998 Hemerocallis became the only genus in the family Hemerocallidaceae. With the APG II system in 2003 it was an option to group Asphodelaceae sensu stricto, Hemerocallidaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae, into a single family with the name Xanthorrhoeaceae. When the APG III system was published in 2009 the combined family was kept but the option was dropped. The family kept the name Xanthorrhoeaceae. The APG IV system, published in 2016, chose to preserve the name Asphodelaceae because it has priority, having been used earlier than Xanthorrhoeaceae. Hemerocallis is now in the family Asphodelaceae.

Seven varieties of orange daylily are recognized worldwide. Only the nominate variety, var. fulva, occurs in North America. When the nominate infraspecies is the only one occurring in North America, North American taxonomies usually drop the infraspecies epithet. Consequently, Hemerocallis fulva var. fulva becomes simply Hemerocallis fulva in North America.

Plant

Flower

Early Spring