lily

Fireball lily Scadoxus multiflorus, Mount Meru, Tanzania. The genus Lilium contains some 80 to 100 species. Lilies are highly valued as ornamental plants and are among the oldest cultivated plants, with evidence for their use for medicinal purposes during the 2nd millennium BC in Asia Minor.

Any of a group of plants belonging to the lily family, of which there are about 80 species, most with showy, trumpet-shaped flowers growing from bulbs. The lily family includes hyacinths, tulips, asparagus, and plants of the onion genus. The name ‘lily’ is also applied to many lilylike plants of related genera and families. (Genus Lilium, family Liliaceae.)