How much information do we need to identify a lily ?!!

[robg]

There is a reason why a neighbour recently gave me some mystery lily seeds, but it is better to avoid that as it will just confuse the matter even more!!

Anne appeared unexpectedly at my door the other day with a large paper bag with two large lily stems with many seed heads - they came from the garden at Braco Castle, but she has no information on what lily it is, other than is grows some 6 to 7ft tall, confirmed by the fact that the stems are some 30mm (mm are good for small dimensions, feet for large ones!!) in diameter. 

I've to try and grow some!!  But are they going to be epigeal or hypogeal, delayed or otherwise?  Is there any pattern that I can use to guess?  These will be late flowering, tall as I said and retaining their seeds through winter in upward facing seed cases.

Can anyone help or am I going to have to tke advantage of a huge number of seeds to try all the options?

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Rob,
can you post a pic of the seed pods and the seeds?
Some Lily experts could possibly identify them that way (not me, by the way!)
cheers
fermi

[robg]

Many thanks for that Fermi

Photos will be taken and posted up - with the hazard of seeds getting everywhere !!

The one bit of information I realise now I missed for you in Australia, and others of the whole World, is that Braco Castle is in Scotland !!

Am I right in posting this query here or should this be in the Plant ID forum?

Cheers
Rob

[arisaema]

Picture of seeds and pods would help, but it sounds like a trumpet, possibly one of the old hybrids, maybe one of the white flowered Chinese species.

[ArdfearnAli]

Hello there,
               I reckon the only way may be to sow them and see if they germinate. If its 6-7 feet tall it could even be a small starved Cardiocrinum? I had one flower last year that reached around 6 feet with a stem of around 30mm.  I have a few unnamed old lilies but none that tall. As said a picture of the seeds and pods might help.
Alasdair