An unknown lily -- not what the label said

[Claire Cockcroft]

The label said Lilium lankongense.  No, it isn't.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!

[DaveM]

Lilium lancifolium???

[Claire Cockcroft]

L. lancifolium has bulbils on the stem, yes?  No sign of that on this plant.

[Tristan_He]

Hi Claire, could it be L. davidii?

Tristan

[Claire Cockcroft]

You know, Tristan, L. davidii seems right.  I have one from an Oregon nursery in a different bed in the garden.  I'll have to compare the two next summer when they both bloom.

Thanks.

[Neil J]

Hi Claire,
It does look very like Lilium davidii. Especially the foliage. Don't be too concerned if your other bulb isn't identical. There are several different forms of L. davidii & even within each form, if grown from seed, then there may well be some variation.
Neil Jordan, Tasmania

[Rick R.]

It looks typical for davidii.  If there were any black dashes on the flower face along with the dots (as L. amablile has), then it is a hybrid.  The inward linear fold of the leaves is a natural tendency for davidii, and not for lancifolium.  Lancifolium leaves are wider, glabrous and shiny, too.  Neils right that davidii can be quite diverse, but you have one of the common forms.  Not my favorite bulb for eating raw, but very good when cooked.

[Gail]

Not my favorite bulb for eating raw, but very good when cooked.

So which is your favourite for eating raw Rick? (I'm enjoying the idea of having enough lilies to harvest them for eating, although so are the lily beetle here!)

[Rick R.]

Well, they say L. maculatum is one of the best for general eating, by I don't have enough to try them out.  If I can remember off the top of my head, so far I have tried Ll. davidii, amabile, michiganense, martagon, tsingtauense, distichum, lancifolium, leichtlinii, dauricum, and a whole lot of my own hybrids of mostly asiatics and some trumpets.

All the trumpets are terribly bitter, even after cooking, and that awful taste is difficult to get out of your mouth.

All the asiatics I have tried are always good cooked, but have some variability with a soapy taste when raw (but never to the point of being inedible).

It seems everything in the martagon section of lilies are best for raw eating: sweet and crunchy, and no soapy taste at all.  I haven't actually tried medeoloides or hansonii, except in hybrids.

[fermi de Sousa]

Well, they say L. maculatum is one of the best for general eating, by I don't have enough to try them out.  If I can remember off the top of my head, so far I have tried Ll. davidii, amabile, michiganense, martagon, tsingtauense, distichum, lancifolium, leichtlinii, dauricum, and a whole lot of my own hybrids of mostly asiatics and some trumpets.

Apparently this is why the "Ancient Proverb" which says "If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily" is not so much a statement of aesthetics as a suggestion of a varying your diet! 
cheers
fermi