''Lilium bulbiferum'', common names orange lily, fire lily, Jimmy's Bane, tiger lily and St. John's Lily, is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

European

lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

with underground bulbs, belonging to the

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

. The Latin name ''bulbiferum'' of this species, meaning "bearing bulbs", refers to the secondary bulbs on the stem of the nominal subspecies.

Description

''Lilium bulbiferum'' reaches on average of height, with a maximum of . The bulbs are ovoid, with whitish large and pointed scales and can reach about of diameter. The stem is erect, the leaves are lanceolate, up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence has one to five short-haired flowers. They are hermaphroditic and scentless, have six upright

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s, the outer are slightly narrower than the inner ones. The flowers can reach 4–6 centimeters in length and are bright yellow-orange with reddish-brown dots. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are erect, about half as long as the

s, with red

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The style is orange, of height. The flowering period extends from May through July. There are two varieties, ''L. b.'' var. ''croceum'' (Chaix) Baker in the western part of the range, and ''L. b.'' var. ''bulbiferum'' in its eastern part. Only the last one always produces secondary aerial bulbs (''bulbils'') in the axils of the upper leaves. These ''bulbils'' fall to the ground and mature after two to three years. When manually separated from the stem they can easily be used for propagating the plant. The dwarf plants from the

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps ( ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy, Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria ...

, formerly described as var. ''chaixii'' (Elwes) Stoker, and the large plants from the region of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, formerly described as var. ''giganteum'' N. Terracc., are now considered as local variants of var. ''croceum''.

Extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...

on the species were first noted by Zimmerman 1932, at least for ''var. croceum''.

Distribution and habitat

''L. bulbiferum'' is widely distributed in much of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

.Altervista Flora Italiana, Giglio rosso, Orange Lily, ''Lilium bulbiferum'' L.
includes many photos plus European distribution map It grows in mountain meadows and on hillsides. They prefer calcareous soils in warm, sunny places, but also grow on slightly acid soils. They can be found at an altitude of above sea level.

In culture

The orange lily has long been recognised as a symbol of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Toxicity

Cats

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

are extremely sensitive to lily toxicity and ingestion is often fatal;Tiger Lilly
Pet Poison Helpline. households and gardens which are visited by cats are strongly advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and become dusted with pollen which they then consume while cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention. Rapid treatment with

activated charcoal "Activated" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd. It was released on 22 July 2016 through Vixen Records. The song was made available to stream exclusively on ''Rolling Stone'' a day before to release (on 21 July 2016). Background In an inter ...

or induced

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed (this is time-sensitive so in some cases veterinarians may advise doing it at home), and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival.Lily Poisoning in Cats
Pet MD.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163766 bulbiferum Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plants with extrafloral nectaries