Turk’s-cap Lily

Scientific Name: Lilium superbum. The genus name Lilium means “lily” in Latin and the meaning of the Latin epithet superbum is quite apparent. Quite the apt name!

Common Name: Turk’s-cap Lily. The common name of this plant comes from the supposed resemblance of the flowers to a fez or similar style of hat.

Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family). Why do you think scientists place it in this family? What similarities do you notice with other lilies? Plants in the lily family are perennials and usually grow from bulbs, have leaves with parallel veins, have 6 tepals (petal-like structures), 6 stamens, and 3-chambered fruits.

Average Height: 4-6 feet

Description: A perennial plant that grows from white, scaly bulbs connected by horizontal roots called rhizomes. It has tall, straight stems with whorled leaves which have a slightly drooping tip. Flowers are abundant and nodding, with yellowish-orange to red, black-speckled tepals 2-3½ inches long which are curled backwards to expose the long (about 2 in.) stamens and pistil.¹⁰

Bloom time: Jul – Aug¹

Notes: The most common lily in Virginia, and the only one with reflexed (backwards-curling) tepals found in the central Piedmont. Similar species include Carolina lily (L. michauxii), a smaller plant with fewer flowers and leaves broadest past the middle that grows in dry soils in the southern part of the state, and sandhills bog lily (L. pyrophilum), with fewer leaves not drooping, found in coastal plain sandhills and pine savannas.¹

Range: From New Hampshire and New York southwest to southern Illinois and Arkansas and east to northern Florida.² Found throughout most of Virginia, but most abundant in the mountains, less frequent in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.⁸

Geology/Soil: Typically found in moist soils of forests, wet meadows, and wetland margins. Not particular about soil chemistry, but not usually found on soils which are both dry and nutrient-poor.¹⁰

Habitat: Rich forests, wet meadows, seepage swamps, stream banks and small-stream floodplains, wetland edges.

Flora associations: Lilium superbum occurs in a wide array of habitats, and can be found with an immense variety of other plant species across its range. At the McIntire Park Triangle Trails, it occurs under trees like red maple (Acer rubrum), tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and with other native wildflowers such as sessile bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).

Fauna associations: Lilium superbum is pollinated by swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae), and the reflexed (backwards-curling) tepals allow the butterflies access to nectar, while the long stamens are perfect for dusting the wings of these large insects as they drink from the flowers. Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilocus colubris) and various flower flies (Syrphidae) also visit Lilium superbum flowers.^6,7,9 The leaves and stems are also (unfortunately) a favorite food of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and finding plants which are able to flower before getting browsed is not common.

Human associations: No human uses have been documented for Lilium superbum. Other species of Lilium have documented uses by many Indigenous Peoples including treating coughs, fevers, and diarrhea.³

We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!

1 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press.

2 Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. Taxonomic Data Center. (http://www.bonap.net/tdc). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)]

3 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Brit.org, 2025, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=lilium&page=1. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

4 Britannica. “Rhizome | Description, Functions, & Examples.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Nov. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/rhizome.

5 —. “Tepal | Botany | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2025, www.britannica.com/science/tepal. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

6 Hilty, John. “Turk’s Cap Lily (Lilium Superbum).” Illinoiswildflowers.info, 2025, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/savanna/plants/turkcap_lily.htm. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

7 In Defense of Plants. “Adventures in Azalea Pollination.” In Defense of Plants, 3 July 2022, www.indefenseofplants.com/podcast/2022/7/3/ep-376-adventures-in-azalea-pollination. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

8 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Lilium Superbum L.” Vaplantatlas.org, 2025, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=1222&search=Search. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

9 Virginia Native Plant Society. Sempervirens, Fall 2021. 2021.

10 Weakley, A.S., and SE Flora Team. “Lilium (Lily) – FSUS.” Unc.edu, 2024, fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-taxon.php&&plantname=lilium&limit=1&offset=0&taxonid=65105. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

Definitions:

Pistil: The female reproductive structure of a flower, consisting of a stigma at the tip, an ovary at the base, and an elongated stalk called the style connecting the two.

Rhizome: A horizontal, rootlike stem which grows underground and can produce roots and aboveground stems.⁴

Stamen: The male reproductive part of a flower, composed of an anther which bears pollen attached to the tip of a long, thin stalk called a filament.

Tepal: Any petal-like structure of a flower that is hard to distinguish as either petal or sepal.⁵

Whorled leaves: Leaves which are arranged around a common point on the stem, like spokes on a wheel. Two leaves coming from the same point are called opposite, whorls have more than two.