Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - January 10, 2012

From: Trussville, AL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives, Plant Identification, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Questions about lilies from Trussville AL
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

How can I tell what kind of lily I have? Or better yet,what is the difference between Asiatic lily and a daylily? I also noticed someone asked about Cahaba lily. Just want to let you know I grow Cahaba Or Spider lily in our shade garden. They come back every year with no prompting from me. But I have found the place they do best is in my fish pond. And, yes, they come back every year. That lady was asking about the seed pods, I have tried getting plants from them but it has never produced,we just throw ours away. Thank You.

ANSWER:

We did find the Previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer which asked about the Cahaba Lily, which will bring you up to speed on that. Since we are not a forum, we can't guarantee original visitor will ever see your comment, but will leave it in so she will get the information if she searches Mr. Smarty Plants.

Now, on to your question about the difference between Asiatic lily and daylillies. This article from the American Hemerocallis Society has a database on which you could search for information. The daylilies are all now part of the genus Hemerocallis, none of which are native to North America, but rather to Eurasia, including China, Korea, and Japan.

There are members of the Liliaceae family which are native to North America, but the name "Asiatic" is a clue that native lilies are not what you are talking about. Try this website from the North American Lily Society to see if you can get any help there.

Native North American lilies belong to the genus Hymenocallis, in the family Liliaceae. Searching on Hymenocallis we found 6 members of the species, which includes Hymenocallis liriosme (Spider lily). Searching on Lialiaceae there were 268 members of that family listed. So, when you ask us how you can tell what kind of lily you have, frankly, we don't know. We suggest, again, that you look at the two societies listed above and see if they can help you. 

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center deals only with plants native not only to North America but to the areas in which they are being grown.

 

From the Image Gallery


Texas spiderlily
Hymenocallis liriosme

More Non-Natives Questions

Dying non-native red tip photinias in Lexington NC
June 27, 2009 - Large Red Tip bushes, what can I do to keep them alive? I have a few and they are dying. What can I do to save them?
view the full question and answer

Nativity of various bulbs
October 15, 2014 - Are the following bulbs native? Chionodoxa forbesii Camassia leichflinii Crocus Sprint tommasinianus Barr's Purple Hyacinthoides hispanica Narcissus 'Actea' Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty' ...
view the full question and answer

Seeking information on Crateeva asiatica, non-native herbal medicine
September 29, 2007 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I had a look at your website in hope of finding information about the plant Crateeva asiatica. Could you kindly help me to locate the information for the same?
view the full question and answer

Pruning of frost-damaged non-native Sago Palms in Marble Falls TX
April 18, 2010 - I have several large Sago Palms that have partial frost damage, they are part green and part brown fronds. Should I remove the brown leaves? the center of the leaf is green.
view the full question and answer

Problems with non-native weeping willow in Greenville NY
September 10, 2009 - We live on the border of Zones 5b and 6a and have a weeping willow that grew so much in only 3 years and did quite well. However, there are aerial roots growing on its bark as well as part of the bark...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.