Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

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?

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

Sunday - August 27, 2006

From: Oegstgeest/NL, Other
Region: Other
Topic: General Botany, Plant Identification
Title: Books on Lilies
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Dear Sir, I am looking for a book covering the Lily Family as a whole, i.e., it should preferably also discuss other Genera than Lilium only. I am especially interested in Lily members occurring in the wild, such as those belonging to the genera Lilium, Maianthemum, Polygonatum, Smilacina, Trillium, Uvularia, Veratrum, etc. Thank you very much in advance for your help. P.S. I own Lady Bird Johnson's book: Wildflowers across America - a very beautiful book!

ANSWER:

If you are looking for identification guides for lily species, you will need to find regional guides. There are many excellent guides for North America. Generally, they cover the most commonly encountered species in various families of flowering plants of the area. However, you can find some that are narrower in focus, such as Flowering Plants: Lilies to Orchids (Illustrated Flora of Illinois). Since, I believe, you are in the Netherlands, you may perhaps be looking for European identification guides. Since our focus and expertise is in plants native to North America, we can't really offer you any recommendations for guides to European species; however, if you are interested in North American species, our Native Plant Bibliography offers regional lists of plant books.

For a more scholarly technical treatment of the Family Liliaceae and related families, you might be able to locate a library copy of The Families of the Monocotyledons: Structure, Evolution, and Taxonomy by R. M. T. Dahlgren et al. Springer, 1985. For an online treatment of the Family Liliaceae, with a dichotomous key, see Flora of North America. You will also find links to other online Flora there, such as Flora of China.

Three recent publications offered by Amazon.com which may be of interest are: 1. Lilies by Pamela McGeorge, Firefly Press, 2004; 2. Lilies: A Guide for Growers and Collectors by Edward A. McRae, Timber Press. 1998; and 3. The Gardener's Guide to Growing Lilies by Michael Jefferson-Brown, Timber Press, 2002.

You might also like to visit the North American Lily Society web page.

 

More Plant Identification Questions

Smarty Plants on forbs
October 16, 2005 - What kind of plant is a forb? I see the term used frequently in reference to grasses (I think), but I can't figure out exactly what a forb is.
view the full question and answer

Identity of plant with cluster of bell-shaped flowers and 2 leaves
April 21, 2012 - In Kirtland, Ohio. Clay soil. Woodsy, moist area. Stem sticks up about 6 inches; stem is bare except for top inch, where 2 leaves and cluster of white drooping bell-like flowers appear. Ball-shaped ...
view the full question and answer

Identification of small plant with lavendar flower
May 07, 2011 - I have something growing in my yard and pasture that for some odd reason is growing all over the place. I never noticed it being this abundant before. I'm not sure if it's listed as a wild flower or...
view the full question and answer

Plant identification
June 29, 2010 - I live outside of Cincinnati and I have a bush that has long yellowish leaves that grow like a spider plant. Just recently long purple things have grown in the middle of them. Is this normal or should...
view the full question and answer

Plant ID–maybe a lupine?
February 02, 2015 - We have a strange plant growing in our flowerbed that we did not knowingly plant. It sprang up last summer and has continued to grow throughout the winter in spite of several freezes. We live just eas...
view the full question and answer

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