Day-Lily
Hemerocallis fulva
Family Liliaceae

Characteristics:
* Blossom faces upward, and unlike other lilies, it is not spotted.
* Leaf long, sword-like.
* Stem leafless.
* Height: 1-4'.

Natural History:
* Flowers all summer, but each blossom is only open for one day.
* Habitat: Fields and roadsides.
* Range: Northeastern United States.
* Introduced from Asia.

Connections!
* Hemerocallis means 'beautiful for a day' in Latin. How appropriate!

* Daylilies stem from Asia, where they are actually a food crop. The buds are harvested and eaten, the flowers are used in soups as flavoring, the leaves provide a salad ingredient, and the small white tubers in the roots are eaten in a similar way as water chestnuts.

* Europeans saw daylilies as ornamental plants, and since they are disease-free and perennial, they make an excellent garden flower.