Morning star lily is a small East Asian lily whose glossy, star-shaped red-orange flowers face straight up instead of nodding. It grows wild in China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East, not in the United States.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A perennial from a small bulb, usually 1–2.6 ft (30–80 cm) tall.
- Leaves
- Narrow, grass-like to lance-shaped leaves about 1.2–4 in (3–10 cm) long.
- Flowers
- Usually 1–5 upward-facing, star-shaped flowers per stem, orange to scarlet (yellow is rare). Each bloom lasts only a few days and has an unpleasant scent; bees pollinate them.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- grassy slopes
- scrub
- forest edges
- Range
- Native to East Asia: China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. It does not grow wild in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows from about 1,150 to 6,600 ft (350–2,000 m) in sunny, open spots.
Cautions
- Cautions
- The plant is toxic to cats if eaten.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Several varieties differ in flower color and leaf width, such as var. partheneion (red with black spots) and var. megalanthum (wider leaves).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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