Lilium speciosum

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Lilium speciosum 2.jpg

|image_caption = A white cultivar

|genus = Lilium

|species = speciosum

|authority = Thunb.

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

{{collapsible list|bullets = true

|title=Synonymy

|Lilium superbum Thunb. 1784, illegitimate homonym not L. 1762

|Lilium broussartii E.Morren

|Lilium albiflorum Hook.

|Lilium eximium Kunth

|Lilium punctatum Lem.

|Lilium vestale Mast.

|Lilium konishii Hayata

|Lilium melpomene Kronfeldt

|Lilium kanahirae Hayata (syn of var. gloriosoides)

|plus numerous other names at the level of form or variety

|}}}}

Lilium speciosum is an East Asian species of plants in the lily family. It is native to southern Japan and southern China, where it can be found at elevations of {{convert|600|-|900|m}}.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=280228 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://www.tropicos.org/Name/18400681 Tropicos, Lilium speciosum Thunb.][http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=240001431 Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 142 药百合 yao bai he Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides Baker, Gard. Chron., n.s.,. 14: 198. 1880. ] It is sometimes called the Japanese lily though there are other species with this common name.

Lilium speciosum grows up to {{convert|1.2|m}} tall and {{convert|0.3|m}} wide, blooming from August to September in north temperate regions.{{cite web|url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Lilium+speciosum|title=Lilium speciosum|publisher=Plants for a Future|accessdate=September 9, 2013}} The flowers are white to pink in colour, and strongly scented. It is later flowering than most other species. Many garden forms are in cultivation, and the species has been widely used for breeding of garden forms.

Lilium speciosum contains phenolic glycosides, such as 6′-O-feruloylsucrose and (25R,26R)-26-methoxyspirost-5-en-3β-ol 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranoside, and steroidal saponins.{{cite journal|title=Steroidal and phenolic constituents of Lilium speciosum|author=Yoshihiro Mimaki and Yutaka Sashida|journal= Phytochemistry|year=1991|volume=30|issue=3|pages=937–940|doi=10.1016/0031-9422(91)85283-6|pmid=1367589 |bibcode=1991PChem..30..937M }}

;Varieties

• Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides Baker - China, Taiwan
• Lilium speciosum var. speciosum - Japan (Shikoku, Kyushu)

File:Lilium longiflorum SZ12.png|1870 illustrationImage from "Flora Japonica" by Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini