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Hemerocallis fulva
Also called Orange Day Lily, Tawny Daylily, Fulvous Day Lily, Tawny Day Lily, Ditch Lily, Day Lily, Common Orange Daylily
Orange daylily is a tough, long-lived perennial grown for its showy orange-red flowers, each of which lasts one day. It is very easy to grow in almost any sunny or lightly shaded spot, but it spreads vigorously and can become invasive.
Hemerocallis fulva, the orange day-lily, tawny daylily, corn lily, tiger daylily, fulvous daylily, ditch lily or Fourth of July lily (also railroad daylily, roadside daylily, outhouse lily, track lily, and wash-house lily), is a species of daylily native to Asia. It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate climates for its showy flowers and ease of cultivation. It is not a true lily in the genus Lilium, but gets its common name from the superficial similarity of its flowers to Lilium and from the fact that each flower lasts only one day.
Hemerocallis fulva has been cultivated in Europe, and naturalized in many countries there, since at least the 16th century. Several modern cultivars exist which are grown as ornamental plants. As most of the varieties in cultivation are sterile triploids, and all spread via subterranean bulb offsets, the most common (and simplest) method of propagation is by root- or bulb-division.
H. fulva are long-lived perennials, and are adaptable to a range of climatic conditions. The species is a vigorous grower in nearly any location, thriving even in difficult areas where other plants do not thrive. The plants grow well in full sun to open shade, and are drought tolerant. H. fulva is winter hardy to UDSA Zone 4.
Orange daylily is native to Asia from the Caucasus east through the Himalaya through China, Japan, and Korea. Orange daylily persists where planted, making them a very good garden plant.
The flowers, leaves, and tubers of H. fulva are edible. The leaves and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked when very young, lest they become too fibrous. The flower petals and young tubers can also be eaten raw in salads, stir-fried, or otherwise cooked. The petals seem to taste better when cooked, but can also be fried for storing, or dried and used as a thickener in soups or sauces. The cooked flower buds, served with butter, taste like green beans or wax beans. The tubers are a good potato substitute, with a reportedly "nutty" flavor.
Citron daylily · Lemon day-lily · Amur daylily · Small daylily · Daylily
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hemerocallis fulva by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
