Lilium lijiangense
Franchet (1898)
(Syn. Lilium huidongense J.M. Xu 1985)
(Lijiang Lily / 丽江百合 Lìjiāng Bǎihé)
Overview
Section: Sinomartagon (Asiatic section)
Origin: Southwestern China — Yunnan and western Sichuan Provinces; synonymized populations from Guangdong (Huidong region)
Habitat: Montane slopes, forest margins, and grassy openings, 1 500 – 2 700 m elev.
Type: Warm-adapted Asiatic lily with campanulate, nodding flowers
Status: Local but widespread; synonymized with L. huidongense for taxonomic clarity
Description
Lilium lijiangense is a graceful species 30–90 cm tall, arising from a white ovoid bulb (~2.5–3 cm diam.) composed of fleshy scales.
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Leaves are linear-lanceolate, 5–10 cm long × 5–8 mm wide, arranged in loose whorls or spirals.
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Inflorescences bear 1–4 nodding, campanulate flowers on slender pedicels. Tepals are cream-white to soft pink, often with fine dark reddish-brown spots near the base and reflexed tips; 5–6 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide. Nectaries are glabrous or minutely papillose. Filaments 2–3 cm; anthers yellow-orange. Style ~2.5 cm with a capitate stigma.
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Flowering: May – July (depending on altitude).
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Fragrance: light, sweet, more pronounced at dusk.
Habitat & Ecology
Native to the montane belt of Yunnan and western Sichuan, L. lijiangense prefers grassy slopes and open woodland edges on calcareous or neutral loams.
Populations formerly described as L. huidongense occur farther southeast (Guangdong, Huidong County) at lower elevations, demonstrating the species’ wide ecological tolerance.
Climate is monsoonal-subtropical: warm summers (18–25 °C) with high humidity, cool nights (10–14 °C), and distinct wet/dry seasons.
Pollination is by bees and hoverflies, occasionally moths; pale color and light fragrance fit a mixed day-to-crepuscular syndrome.
Taxonomy & Synonymy
Originally described by Franchet (1898) from Lijiang, Yunnan.
Lilium huidongense J.M. Xu (1985) was later described from Guangdong Province but is morphologically and genetically indistinguishable from L. lijiangense (Gao & Gao 2014). It is genealy treated as a southern form of the type.
Both are warm-adapted Sinomartagon taxa with similar flower form and habitat preferences; the latter is now treated as a regional population rather than a distinct species.
Genetics & Phylogeny
Chromosome count 2n = 24, diploid, typical for section Sinomartagon.
Molecular datasets (ITS + chloroplast markers matK, rbcL, trnL–F, rpl32–trnL, psbA–trnH) include L. lijiangense but not L. huidongense; thus the latter inherits the same placement by synonymy.
Plastome and multi-locus phylogenies position L. lijiangense in the southern, warm-adapted Asiatic lilies cluster, closest to L. brownii, with secondary affinities to L. lancifolium and L. davidii.
(Southern / warm-adapted *Sinomartagon*)
┌── *L. concolor*
┌─────────────┤
│ └── *L. callosum*
┌───────────┤
│ │ ┌── *L. lancifolium*Section │ └─────────────┤
Sinomartagon │ └── L. davidii
│
│ ┌── L. brownii (plastome published)
└─────────────────────────┤
└── L. lijiangense (= L. huidongense syn.)
Interpretation. The L. lijiangense–brownii lineage marks a southern expansion of Asiatic lilies, evolving traits for heat tolerance and extended growing seasons.
While a complete chloroplast genome for L. huidongense has not been published, the shared sequence markers and identical morphology firmly link it within this cluster.
Cultivation
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Soil: well-drained sandy loam (pH 6.0–7.5), neutral to slightly alkaline.
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Light: bright filtered sun or high light shade.
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Water: regular moisture during growth; avoid waterlogging.
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Temperature: tolerates warmer climates (15–28 °C); requires cool rest in winter.
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Propagation: bulb scaling or seed; seedlings flower in 3–4 years.
Lilium lijiangense and its southern variant (huidongense) are valuable for breeding heat-tolerant Asiatic hybrids.
Evolutionary Context
This species represents the southern extension of the Sinomartagon radiation.
As populations spread from the central Chinese plateau into subtropical zones, floral size and color became reduced while physiological heat tolerance increased, an adaptive shift toward the coastal and lower-montane environments of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Its close relationship to L. brownii and L. lancifolium shows a continuum between continental and southern forms in response to temperature and seasonality.
Works Cited
Du, Yun-Peng, et al. “Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequences of Lilium: Insights into Evolutionary Dynamics and Phylogenetic Analyses.” Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 5751.
Gao, Yun-Dong, and Xin-Fen Gao. “Taxonomic Notes on Chinese Lilium L. (Liliaceae) with Proposal of Three Nomenclatural Revisions.” Phytotaxa 172 (2) (2014): 101–108. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.172.2.5.
Jin, J., et al. “The Complete Chloroplast Genome of Lilium brownii var. viridulum and Its Phylogenetic Position.” Mitochondrial DNA Part B 5 (1) (2020): 1111–1112.
Kim, H.-T., et al. “New Insights on Lilium Phylogeny Based on Comparative Phylogenomic Study Using Complete Plastome Sequences.” Plants 9 (8) (2019): 947.
Xu, J.M. (1985). “New Species of Liliaceae from Sichuan.” Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 23 (3). (original description of L. huidongense).
Zhang, R., et al. “Morphological and Ecological Divergence of Lilium and Nomocharis: Evidence from Multi-Locus Phylogeny.” BMC Evolutionary Biology 15 (2015).