''Lilium oxypetalum'' is a small to medium member of 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 ...
family which grows to a height of 20–30 cm. It is native to the N. W. Himalayas.
It grows as a single stem from a bulb, preferring a cool, shady position in moist, acid soil. The green stem is tinged with purple and supports a scattering of
linear
In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties:
* linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping'');
* linearity of a '' polynomial''.
An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...
to
lanceolate
The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...
leaves, sometimes in a whorl beneath the flowers. The leaves are up to 7 cm long. The yellow, semi-pendant, unscented flowers are produced in early summer in ones or twos on slender stems. The flowers are shaped like a shallow bowl, up to 5 cm across and have a scattering of purple spots near the centre.
[Christopher Brickell, The RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Dorling Kindersly, London 1996, p616. ]
Oxypetalum (oxee`pet`alum) means sharp petalled.
The variety insigne produces purple flowers.
References
Flora of Nepal
oxypetalum
Taxa named by David Don
Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker
{{Liliales-stub