Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L.

Orange Day Lily; Tawny Day Lily

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Orange Day Lily is an introduced herbaceous perennial in the Asphodela family (Asphodelaceae). It is native to Asia. In Alabama it is widely cultivated and escapes or persists on roadsides, in pastures, along railroads, and around old home sites. It is a scapose, clump-forming perennial with thick, fleshy roots and short rhizomes. The leaves are basal, sessile, 2-ranked, linear, entire, and glabrous. Flowers are solitary or in terminal helicoid cymes. Each funnelform flower has 6 showy tepals joined at the base, and is orange in color. The fruit is a capsule. Orange Day Lily is widely cultivated and over 38,000 cultivars exist. The flowers are edible and can be used as a colorful addition to salads. Hemerocallin, a neurotoxin extracted from the roots, has been used medicinally as an analgesic, diuretic, arsenic-poisoning antidote, and treatment for schistosomiasis. The common wild type Orange Day Lily with single flowers is the cultivar ‘Europa’ and is a self-sterile triploid producing no seed. The cultivar ‘Kwanso’ has fully doubled flowers. Numerous Day Lily cultivars are commonly available in nurseries. They prefer a well-draining soil in full sun.—A. Diamond

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Not Native

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