Loading profile. Please wait . . .
Lilium philadelphicum L.
Wood Lily
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Endangered
Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: High Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 3
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Wet meadows over sandstone
Perennial herb with a waxy, green stem up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall, rising from a stout underground bulb. The leaves are mostly scattered along the stem with some leaves also in whorls with 3 - 11 leaves per whorl. Leaves are up to 4 inches long (2.9 - 10.2 cm) and 1 inch (0.3 - 2.3 cm) wide, smooth along the veins and margins. Flowers are bell-shaped, orange or red, facing upward at the top of the stem, solitary or in loose clusters of 2 - 6 flowers, not fragrant. Tepals are 6 in number (3 petals + 3 nearly identical sepals), 2 - 3.2 inches (4.9 - 8.2) long, held erect but curved outward at the tips, narrowed and spotted with maroon at the base. The fruit is an erect capsule 1 - 3 inches (2.2 - 7.7 cm) long.
Pine Lily (Lilium catesbaei) is another true lily that holds it flowers upright. It occurs in pine flatwoods in the Coastal Plain. Its leaves are all alternate, not whorled.
Four species of Lilium are rare in Georgia:
Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) occurs in remnant wet prairies, calcareous flatwoods, and rights-of-way through these habitats in northwest Georgia. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=15586
Canada Lily (Lilium canadense) occurs in sunny gaps in rich, limestone woods in Dade and Floyd Counties. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18601
Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) occurs in remnant wet meadows, forest openings, damp roadsides, and rights-of-way through these habitats, usually over sandstone. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=16274
Pineland Lily (Lilium pyrophilum) occurs in seeps on or near Altamaha Grit outcrops in Georgia; elsewhere in its range it occurs in Fall Line sandhills in the wetland transition areas at the base of sandhills and streams. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34948
Wood Lily occurs in northwest Georgia in wet meadows, forest openings, damp roadsides, and rights-of-way; usually over sandstone.
Wood Lily is a perennial herb that reproduces sexually as well as vegetatively by offsets of bulb scales. Young plants will send up a single leaf for several years before producing a stemmed plant. Once sufficient reserves are stored in its bulb, the plant will produce a flowering stem. Its flowers require cross-pollination in order to produce fruit and set seed, and are pollinated primarily by large swallowtail butterflies; they are also visited by hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, and Halictid bees. The flowers remain open for 8 - 11 days, and, unlike many species’ flowers, do not close or wither immediately after pollination takes place. The anthers (pollen-bearing structures at the tips of the stamens) close during a rain then re-open, an extremely rare occurrence among flowers with similar stamens. Wood Lily produces seed, but nothing is known about seed dispersal. Most reproduction is believed to take place vegetatively, through offsetting of bulblets that develop from the scales of the underground bulb. Deer browse the aboveground portion of the plants, and voles eat the bulbs.
The plants are most conspicuous during flowering (late April–early June). Leaves wither soon after flowering.
Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and north to Canada. Although widespread further north, where it is known as Prairie Lily, it is rare in the southeastern U.S.
Herbicide application and badly timed mowing in roadside rights-of-way. Overbrowsing by deer. Logging and clearing. Plant poaching.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Transportation & service corridors | Natural system modifications |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Wood Lily is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is critically imperiled in Georgia. It is listed as Endangered by the State of Georgia. Only three populations are known, all on roadsides; two are on conservation land, but are vulnerable to plant poaching and poorly timed mowing. Georgia’s plants are among the southernmost populations of this species. Plants occurring at the periphery of a species’ range are thought to be of special conservation importance. Peripheral populations are usually smaller and less genetically diverse within the population, but genetically divergent from centrally located populations. These genetic differences may confer special survival traits that plants in other portions of the species’ range lack, such as the ability to survive changes in the climate or the arrival of a new pathogen. Peripheral populations may be in the process of evolving into a new species. They are especially deserving of conservation action.
Use hand-clearing or carefully timed mowing, not herbicides, in rights-of-way. Avoid logging and clearing. Reduce size of deer population. Prosecute plant poachers.
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Drake, J. 2014. Lilies in the wild and in the garden. Breath O' Spring Publications, Inc., Suwannee, Georgia. https://tinyurl.com/wdupfbx
Edwards, J. and J.R. Jordon. 1992. Reversible anther opening in Lilium philadelphicum (Liliaceae): a possible means of enhancing male fitness. American Journal Botany: 79(2): 144-148.https://www.jstor.org/stable/2445101?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Lilium philadelphicum. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Hilty, J. 2018. Prairie Lily, Lilium philadelphicum andinum. Illinois Wildflowers. http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/pr_lily.html
Horn, D., T. Cathcart, T.E. Hemmerly, and D. Duhl. 2005. Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the southern Appalachians. Lone Pine Publishing, Auburn, Washington.
Horning, M.E. and M.S. Webster. 2009. Conservation genetics of remnant Lilium philadelphicum populations in the midwestern United States. American Midland Naturalist 161(2): 286-300.
NatureServe. 2019. Lilium philadelphicum comprehensive report. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Lilium+philadelphicum
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Skinner, M.W. 2003. Lilium philadelphicum species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 26. Oxford University Press, New York. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101743
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, Sept. 2007: original account
K. Owers, Feb. 2010: added pictures
L. Chafin, Mar. 2020: updated original account
