Lilium Lijiangense

Lilium lijiangense, now accepted as Lilium tenii, is a graceful high-mountain lily from western Sichuan and north-western Yunnan. Purple-spotted stems carry one to five nodding, lightly fragrant flowers in yellow to soft ochre, each tepal marked with purple or brown spots and slightly recurved at the tip. White woolly hairs in the leaf axils are a useful identifying feature. The name tenii honours Simeon Ten, who collected the plant in 1907. Rare in cultivation, it needs cool nights, humus-rich drainage and shelter from excessive summer heat.