SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lilium michiganense
COMMON NAMES: Michigan Lily, Turk's Cap Lily
BLOOM TIME: June, July, Aug
PLANT PROFILE:
- Stately plant up to 6 ft. tall.
- Waxy leaves up to 5 in, long.
- Flowers hang down from top of stem, having 1-12 flowers per plant, depending on age of plant.
- Attractive flower is to 3 in, wide, with 6 orange to yellow petals that curve back and have many purple to red spots; Stamens hang down.
- Habitat: moist prairies & low woods.
- Native Americans used roots to thicken soups & made a tea from bulbs to treat snakebites.
- Also, Native Americans chewed flower into a paste for treating snake bites.
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- The large showy flowers appear to be designed to attract hummingbirds and larger day-flying insects, such as Sphinx moths and Hummingbird moths.
- Butterflies as the Monarch, Great Spangled Fritillary and Spicebush Swallowtail visit the flowers for nectar.
- Deer, rabbits, horses, cattle and other livestock occasionally browse on the foliage, while voles sometimes eat the bulbs.