Shirui Lily or Siroi lily, Lilium mackliniae, is found in the upper reaches of the Siroi hill ranges in the Ukhrul

Ukhrul

Ukhrul is a town in Ukhrul district in the state of Manipur, India. It is the administrative headquarter of the Ukhrul district. There are also four Sub-Divisions in the district for administering the villages in and around it. The villages however are govern by the 'Church' and the 'Village...

 District of Manipur

Manipur

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, at an elevation of 1730m–2590m above sea level.

This shade-loving lily has pale bluish-pink petals. In the wild it flowers in the monsoon

Monsoon

Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...

 months of June and July. They are seasonal flowering plants and at their best in May and June when it blooms. The peak season of its bloom is May 15 to June 5. The height of the plant is 1–3 ft. and has 1-7 flowers per plant.

The lily gets its name from Macklin, the family name of Jean, the second wife of plant-hunter Frank Kingdon-Ward

Frank Kingdon-Ward

Francis Kingdon-Ward, born Francis Kingdon Ward was an English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. He published most of his books as Frank Kingdon-Ward and this hyphenated form of his name stuck, becoming the surname of his wives and two daughters...

; it was discovered in 1946. The lily won the Merit prize of the 1948 Royal Horticultural Society

Royal Horticultural Society

The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...

 at a Flower Show in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 (but no longer holds an Award of Garden Merit

Award of Garden Merit

The Award of Garden Merit, or AGM, is an award made to garden plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society after a period of assessment by the appropriate committees of the Society...

).

It is the state flower

Floral emblem

In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols - some are conferred by...

of Manipur.