1. Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L. (orange day lily)

Pl. 102 g; Map 414

Plants perennial, with fleshy stolons and stout, thickened, fleshy rootstocks, the roots often with tuberlike thickenings at the tip, lacking the odor of onion or garlic. Aerial stems 1–1.5 m long, unbranched below the inflorescence, erect, glabrous. Leaves basal, 50–100 cm long, 1–3 cm wide, linear, somewhat folded or channeled longitudinally, glabrous. Inflorescences at the tips of the aerial stems, usually 2-branched panicles, sometimes reduced and appearing as racemes or umbels. Flowers with stalks 1–15 mm long, not replaced by bulblets. Perianth 85–130 mm long, fused into a narrow tube in the lower third, the lobes oblong to elliptic, funnelform, the tips usually arched outward and spreading, orange to brick red, with a lighter midrib on the petal lobes, lacking purple or brownish purple spots. Stamens 6, fused to the top of the perianth tube, the filaments arched and all positioned on one side of the flower. Style 1, parallel to the filaments of the stamens, the stigma capitate. Ovary superior, with 3 locules, each with numerous ovules. Fruits capsules, not maturing in Missouri plants. 2n=22, 33 (presumably 2n=33 for materials outside cultivation). May–August.

Introduced, widely scattered in the state (native of Europe and Asia, widely escaped in North America). Disturbed stream banks, roadsides, railroads, fields, pastures, and old homesites.

Dense, naturalized colonies of day lilies are a common sight along roadsides in rural areas. Numerous cultivars and hybrids of the orange day lilies exist in cultivation. Thus far, most of these have not become established outside of clearly planted situations. One horticultural variant in which some or all of the stamens have been transformed into extra petals is known as var. kwanso Regel and has been reported along railroad tracks in St. Louis city.

The yellow day lily, H. lilioasphodelus L. (H. flava L.), also is commonly cultivated as an ornamental in Missouri, but it has not become established outside of cultivation in the state thus far. Steyermark (1963) erroneously applied this name to H. fulva in the supplement that appeared in printings 2–6 of his Flora of Missouri.

The flowers of H. fulva can be fried or broiled much like squash blossoms or used as a flavoring in soups. The rootstocks and young stems are also eaten raw or cooked