Lily (Lilium), a genus of plants of the natural order Liliaceæ, containing a number of species much prized for the size and beauty of their flowers. The perianth is bell-shaped, and its segments are often bent back at the extremity. The root is a scaly bulb, the stem herbaceous and simple, often several feet high, bearing the flowers near its summit. The White Lily (L. candidum), a native of the Levant, has been long cultivated in gardens, and much sung by poets. It has large, pure white flowers, as much prized for their fragrance as for their beauty. The Orange Lily (L. bulbiferum), a native of the south of Europe, with large, erect, orange-coloured flowers, is a well-known and very showy ornament of the flower-garden. The Martagon or Turk's Cap Lily (L. Martagon), a native of the south of Europe, and allied species with verticillate leaves and drooping flowers, are also common in gardens. L. chalcedonicum, a native of the Levant, is a very brilliant species, and has been in cultivation about 300 years. The Tiger Lily (L. tigrinum) is a native of China, remarkable for the axillary buds on the stem; and some very fine species are natives of North America, as L. superbum, which grows in marshes in the United States, has a stem 6 to 8 feet high, and reflexed orange flowers, spotted with black; L. canadense, &c. Several very fine species have been introduced from Japan, as L. japonicum, L. speciosum, and L. lancifolium. The bulbs of L. pomponium, L. Martagon, and L. kamtschacense are roasted and eaten in Siberia. That of L. candidum loses its acridity by drying, roasting, or boiling; when cooked it is viscid, pulpy, and sugary, and is eaten in some parts of the East. Lilies are generally propagated by offset bulbs. A single scale of the bulb will, however, suffice to produce a new plant, or even part of a scale, of which skilful gardeners avail themselves.—The name lily is often popularly extended to flowers of other genera of the same order, and even of allied orders. For Lily of the Nile, see ARUM. See also FLEUR-DE-LIS.