Daylily
Encyclopedia
Daylily is the general nonscientific name of a species, hybrid or cultivar of the genus
Hemerocallis (icon). Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists. Thousands of registered cultivars are appreciated and studied by local and international Hemerocallis societies. Hemerocallis is now placed in family Xanthorrhoeaceae
, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, and formerly was part of Liliaceae (which includes Lilium
, True Lilies).
Hemerocallis is native to Eurasia
, including China
, Korea
, and Japan
, and this genus is popular worldwide because of the showy flowers and hardiness of many kinds. There are over 60,000 registered cultivar
s. Hundreds of cultivars have fragrant flowers, and more scented cultivars are appearing more frequently in northern hybridization programs. Some cultivars rebloom later in the season, particularly if their capsules, in which seeds are developing, are removed.
Most kinds of Daylilies occur as clumps, each of which has leaves, a crown, flowers, and roots. The long, linear lanceolate leaves
are grouped into opposite
fans with arching leaves. The crown is the small white portion between the leaves and the roots. Along the scape
of some kinds of daylilies, small leafy "proliferations" form at nodes or in bract
s. A proliferation forms roots when planted and is often an exact clone
of its parent plant. Many kinds of daylilies have thickened roots in which they store food and water.
A normal, single daylily flower has three petal
s and three sepal
s, collectively called tepals, each with a midrib in the same or in a contrasting color. The centermost part of the flower, called the throat, usually has a different color than more distal areas of its tepals. Each flower usually has six stamen
s, each with a two-lobed anther. After successful pollination
, a flower forms a capsule (often erroneously called a pod).
The Fulvous Daylily, although a beautiful plant, is an unwanted alien, invasive weed in some parts of the United States, such as in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
). People sometimes plant the Fulvous Daylily and other rhizomatous daylilies, which have underground runners. These kinds can overrun one's garden, and can take an appreciable amount of time and effort to confine or remove.
Depending on the species and cultivar, daylilies grow in USDA plant hardiness zone
s 1 through 11, making daylilies some of the more adaptable landscape
plants. Hybridizers have developed the vast majority of cultivars within the last 100 years. The large-flowered, bright yellow Hemerocallis 'Hyperion', introduced in the 1920s, heralded a return to gardens of the once-dismissed daylily, and is still widely available in the nursery trade. Daylily breeding
has been a specialty in the United States, where daylily heat- and drought-resistance made them garden standbys since the 1950s. New cultivars have sold for thousands of dollars, but sturdy and prolific introductions sell at reasonable prices of $20 or less.
The Tawny Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva
), and the sweet-scented Lemon-lily (H. lilioasphodelus; H. flava, old name) were early imports from England to 17th-century American gardens and soon escaped from gardens. The introduced Tawny Daylily is now common in many natural areas, and some people think that it is a native wildflower. Its nonscientific names include Railroad Daylily and Roadside Daylily and Outhouse Lily, Tiger Lily, and Wash-house Lily (although it is not a true lily). Some people have planted this species near outhouses and wash houses, hence two of its nonscientific names.
Hemerocallis is one of the very highly hybridized plant genera. Hybridizers register hundreds of new cultivars yearly. Hybridizers have extended the genus' color range from the yellow, orange, and pale pink of the species, to vibrant reds, purples, lavenders, greenish tones, near-black, near-white, and more. However, hybridizers have not yet been able to produce a daylily with primarily blue flowers in forms of blue such as azure blue, cobalt blue, and sky blue. Flowers of some cultivars have small areas of cobalt blue.
Other flower traits that hybridizers developed include height, scent, ruffled edges, contrasting "eyes" in the center of a bloom, and an illusion of glitter which is called "diamond dust." Sought-after improvements include foliage color and variegation and plant disease resistance and the ability to form large, neat clumps. Hybridizers also seek to make less-hardy plants hardier in Canada and the Northern United States by crossing evergreen and semi-evergreen plants with those that become dormant and by using other methods. Many kinds of daylilies form clumps of crowded shoots. People dig up such kinds every 3 or so years, separate shoots, and replant only some of the shoots to reduce crowding. This process increases the flowering of many cultivars.
In the last several decades, many hybridizers have focused on breeding tetraploid plants, which tend to have sturdier scapes and tepals than diploids and some flower-color traits that are not found in diploids. Until this trend took root, nearly all daylilies were diploid. "Tets," as they are called by aficionados, have 44 chromosomes, while triploids have 33 chromosomes and diploids have 22 chromosomes per individual plant. Hemerocallis fulva 'Europa', H. fulva 'Kwanso', H. fulva 'Kwanso Variegata', H. fulva 'Kwanso Kaempfer', H. fulva var. maculata, H. fulva var. angustifolia, and H. fulva 'Flore Pleno' are all triplods that almost never produce seeds and reproduce almost solely by underground runners (stolon
s) and dividing groups by gardeners. A polymerous daylily flower is one with more than three sepals and more than three petals. Although some people synonymize “polymerous” with “double,” some polymerous flowers have over five times the normal number of petals.
The flowers of some species are edible and are used in Chinese cuisine
. They are sold (fresh or dried) in Asian markets
as gum jum or golden needles (金针 in Chinese
; pinyin: jīnzhēn) or yellow flower vegetables (黃花菜 in Chinese
; pinyin: huánghuācài). They are used in hot and sour soup
, daylily soup (金針花湯), Buddha's delight
, and moo shu pork
. The young green leaves and the tuber
s of some (but not all) species are also edible. The plant has also been used for medicinal purposes. Care must be used as some species of lilies can be toxic.
, not of cultivars, which number in the thousands:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Hemerocallis (icon). Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists. Thousands of registered cultivars are appreciated and studied by local and international Hemerocallis societies. Hemerocallis is now placed in family Xanthorrhoeaceae
Xanthorrhoeaceae
Xanthorrhoeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription of the family has varied wildly....
, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, and formerly was part of Liliaceae (which includes Lilium
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
, True Lilies).
Description
Daylilies are perennial plants. The name Hemerocallis comes from the Greek words (hēmera) "day" and (kalos) "beautiful". This name alludes to the attractive flowers of this genus which typically last no more than 24 hours. The flowers of most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, possibly replaced by another one on the same scape (flower stalk) the next day. Some species are night-blooming. Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal flower arranging, yet they make good cut flowers otherwise as new flowers continue to open on cut stems over several days.Hemerocallis is native to Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, including China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and this genus is popular worldwide because of the showy flowers and hardiness of many kinds. There are over 60,000 registered cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s. Hundreds of cultivars have fragrant flowers, and more scented cultivars are appearing more frequently in northern hybridization programs. Some cultivars rebloom later in the season, particularly if their capsules, in which seeds are developing, are removed.
Most kinds of Daylilies occur as clumps, each of which has leaves, a crown, flowers, and roots. The long, linear lanceolate leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are grouped into opposite
Phyllotaxis
In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem .- Pattern structure :...
fans with arching leaves. The crown is the small white portion between the leaves and the roots. Along the scape
Scape (botany)
In botany, scapes are leafless flowering stems that rise from the ground. Scapes can have a single flower or many flowers, depending on the species....
of some kinds of daylilies, small leafy "proliferations" form at nodes or in bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s. A proliferation forms roots when planted and is often an exact clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of its parent plant. Many kinds of daylilies have thickened roots in which they store food and water.
A normal, single daylily flower has three petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s and three sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s, collectively called tepals, each with a midrib in the same or in a contrasting color. The centermost part of the flower, called the throat, usually has a different color than more distal areas of its tepals. Each flower usually has six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s, each with a two-lobed anther. After successful pollination
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
, a flower forms a capsule (often erroneously called a pod).
The Fulvous Daylily, although a beautiful plant, is an unwanted alien, invasive weed in some parts of the United States, such as in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is an agency of the state of Wisconsin. Its purpose is to preserve, protect, manage and maintain the natural resources of the state. The WDNR has the authority to set policy for itself and to recommend regulations for approval by the State Legislature...
). People sometimes plant the Fulvous Daylily and other rhizomatous daylilies, which have underground runners. These kinds can overrun one's garden, and can take an appreciable amount of time and effort to confine or remove.
Cultivars
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
s 1 through 11, making daylilies some of the more adaptable landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
plants. Hybridizers have developed the vast majority of cultivars within the last 100 years. The large-flowered, bright yellow Hemerocallis 'Hyperion', introduced in the 1920s, heralded a return to gardens of the once-dismissed daylily, and is still widely available in the nursery trade. Daylily breeding
Plant breeding
Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the genetics of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular...
has been a specialty in the United States, where daylily heat- and drought-resistance made them garden standbys since the 1950s. New cultivars have sold for thousands of dollars, but sturdy and prolific introductions sell at reasonable prices of $20 or less.
The Tawny Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva
Hemerocallis fulva
Hemerocallis fulva is a species of Hemerocallis, native to Asia from the Caucasus east through the Himalaya to China, Japan, Korea, and southeastern Russia.-Growth:...
), and the sweet-scented Lemon-lily (H. lilioasphodelus; H. flava, old name) were early imports from England to 17th-century American gardens and soon escaped from gardens. The introduced Tawny Daylily is now common in many natural areas, and some people think that it is a native wildflower. Its nonscientific names include Railroad Daylily and Roadside Daylily and Outhouse Lily, Tiger Lily, and Wash-house Lily (although it is not a true lily). Some people have planted this species near outhouses and wash houses, hence two of its nonscientific names.
Hemerocallis is one of the very highly hybridized plant genera. Hybridizers register hundreds of new cultivars yearly. Hybridizers have extended the genus' color range from the yellow, orange, and pale pink of the species, to vibrant reds, purples, lavenders, greenish tones, near-black, near-white, and more. However, hybridizers have not yet been able to produce a daylily with primarily blue flowers in forms of blue such as azure blue, cobalt blue, and sky blue. Flowers of some cultivars have small areas of cobalt blue.
Other flower traits that hybridizers developed include height, scent, ruffled edges, contrasting "eyes" in the center of a bloom, and an illusion of glitter which is called "diamond dust." Sought-after improvements include foliage color and variegation and plant disease resistance and the ability to form large, neat clumps. Hybridizers also seek to make less-hardy plants hardier in Canada and the Northern United States by crossing evergreen and semi-evergreen plants with those that become dormant and by using other methods. Many kinds of daylilies form clumps of crowded shoots. People dig up such kinds every 3 or so years, separate shoots, and replant only some of the shoots to reduce crowding. This process increases the flowering of many cultivars.
In the last several decades, many hybridizers have focused on breeding tetraploid plants, which tend to have sturdier scapes and tepals than diploids and some flower-color traits that are not found in diploids. Until this trend took root, nearly all daylilies were diploid. "Tets," as they are called by aficionados, have 44 chromosomes, while triploids have 33 chromosomes and diploids have 22 chromosomes per individual plant. Hemerocallis fulva 'Europa', H. fulva 'Kwanso', H. fulva 'Kwanso Variegata', H. fulva 'Kwanso Kaempfer', H. fulva var. maculata, H. fulva var. angustifolia, and H. fulva 'Flore Pleno' are all triplods that almost never produce seeds and reproduce almost solely by underground runners (stolon
Stolon
In biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s) and dividing groups by gardeners. A polymerous daylily flower is one with more than three sepals and more than three petals. Although some people synonymize “polymerous” with “double,” some polymerous flowers have over five times the normal number of petals.
Culinary use
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. They are sold (fresh or dried) in Asian markets
Asian supermarket
An Asian supermarket, sometimes called an "Oriental supermarket", is a grocery store in non-Asian countries that stocks items imported from the many countries in East and Southeast Asia. They carry items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisines and not found in most Western...
as gum jum or golden needles (金针 in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
; pinyin: jīnzhēn) or yellow flower vegetables (黃花菜 in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
; pinyin: huánghuācài). They are used in hot and sour soup
Hot and sour soup
Hot and sour soup can refer to soups from several Asian culinary traditions. In all cases the soup contains ingredients to make it both spicy and sour.-United States:Soup preparation may use chicken or pork broth, or may be meat-free...
, daylily soup (金針花湯), Buddha's delight
Buddha's delight
Buddha's delight, often transliterated as Luóhàn zhāi, lo han jai, or lo hon jai, is a vegetarian dish well known in Chinese and Buddhist cuisine...
, and moo shu pork
Moo shu pork
Moo shu pork is a dish of northern Chinese origin, possibly originally from Shandong...
. The young green leaves and the tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s of some (but not all) species are also edible. The plant has also been used for medicinal purposes. Care must be used as some species of lilies can be toxic.
Species
This is a list of speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, not of cultivars, which number in the thousands:
- Hemerocallis altissima Stout
- Hemerocallis aurantiaca Baker
- Hemerocallis citrina Baroni
- Hemerocallis cordata C.P.Thunberg ex A. Murray
- Hemerocallis coreana Nakai
- Hemerocallis darrowiana S.Y.Hu
- Hemerocallis dumortierii Morr
- Hemerocallis esculenta Koidz.
- Hemerocallis exaltata Stout
- Hemerocallis ×exilis Satake
- Hemerocallis forrestii Diels
- Hemerocallis fulvaHemerocallis fulvaHemerocallis fulva is a species of Hemerocallis, native to Asia from the Caucasus east through the Himalaya to China, Japan, Korea, and southeastern Russia.-Growth:...
L. : Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Tiger Lily, Ditch Lily - Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai
- Hemerocallis hongdoensis M.G.Chung & S.S.Kang
- Hemerocallis ×hybrida (hort.)
- Hemerocallis japonica C.P.Thunberg ex A. Murray
- Hemerocallis lilioasphodelusHemerocallis lilioasphodelusHemerocallis lilioasphodelus, is a plant of the genus Hemerocallis. It is found across China, in Europe in N.E...
L, Hemerocallis flava L, Lemon Lily, Yellow daylily - Hemerocallis littorea Makino
- Hemerocallis micrantha Nakai
- Hemerocallis middendorffiiHemerocallis middendorffiiHemerocallis middendorffii is a species from the Russian Far East, northwest China, Korea, and Japan. It grows in meadows, mountain slopes, open woods, and scrub. It is cultivated in Asia for its edible flowers.-Description:...
Trautv. & Mey. - Hemerocallis minorHemerocallis minorHemerocallis minor, is also known as Dwarf day lily, Grassleaf Lily. It is a member of the relatively small genus Hemerocallis. The plant grows up to 0.5 m high. Its wide yellow flowers is scentless. It is a hermaphroditic plant, and is pollinated by insects such as honey bees.- Propagation...
Mill. - Hemerocallis multiflora Stout
- Hemerocallis nana W.W.Sm. & Forrest
- Hemerocallis ×ochroleuca (hort. ex Bergmans)
- Hemerocallis pedicellata Nakai
- Hemerocallis plicata Stapf
- Hemerocallis sempervirens Araki
- Hemerocallis sendaica Ohwi
- Hemerocallis serotina Focke
- Hemerocallis ×stoutiana Traub (hort.)
- Hemerocallis sulphurea Nakai
- Hemerocallis taeanensis S.S.Kang & M.G.Chung
- Hemerocallis thunbergii Baker
- Hemerocallis ×traubara Moldenke (hort.)
- Hemerocallis ×traubiana Moldenke (hort.)
- Hemerocallis vespertina Hara
- Hemerocallis washingtonia Traub
- Hemerocallis ×yeldara Traub (hort.)
- Hemerocallis ×yeldiana Traub (hort.)
- Hemerocallis yezoensis Hara
See also
- Arlow StoutArlow StoutDr. Arlow Burdette Stout was an American botanist and the pioneer breeder of the modern hybrid daylily.Dr. Stout was born in Albion, Wisconsin on March 10, 1876 He worked between 1911 to 1948 at the New York Botanical Garden. In over 50,000 cross-pollination experiments, Dr...
- pioneer in the hybridization of daylilies - Siloam dayliliesSiloam dayliliesSiloam daylilies are cultivars of daylilies registered with the American Hemerocallis Society by Pauline Henry of Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Mrs. Henry registered over 450 daylilies during her lifetime...
- over 450 daylily cultivars registered by Pauline Henry. - Mercers' Garden - Roger Mercer is one of the world's foremost experts in daylilly gardening. He specializes in their breeding and cultivation.
External links
- The American Hemerocallis Society
- Australian Daylily Society
- Ontario Daylily Society
- Hemerocallis species by the Drs. Lobeck has species, hybrids, and cultivars; links; terms and Latin meanings; images and history of hybrids