Lily
A flower, along with the rose, that has been popular since long in the past in the East and West alike; many cultivars have been developed from lilies native to Japan
“Lily” (yuri) is a general term for flowers of the Lilium genus in the Liliaceae family. About 115 types are distributed throughout the northern temperate zone, many found in East Asia. About 14 types grow naturally in Japan. Many lilies are cultivated as ornamentals, and a large number of cultivars have been developed as well. Lilies are perennials with underground bulbs, and their stems grow upright. Leaves are alternate, and occasionally verticillate. Flowers are funnel- or bell-shaped, colored in an array of hues from white to rose-pink, crimson, yellow, and so on. With six tepals and six stamens, the anthers form Ts at filament tips.
Easter lilies, native to the Ryukyu Islands, grow to be 1 meter high, with large, trumpet-shaped flowers that are pure white and strongly perfumed. They found favor when introduced to Europe and the Americas in the early Meiji period. In particular, the Easter lily, adopted for use in Easter festivities, was a big hit, and the tradition of use is well established even today. Philipp Franz von Siebold introduced the Japanese lily (Lilium speciosum) in his Flora Japonica, but he included many specimens of the Lilium genus—specimens such as the morning star lily (Lilium concolor), the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum), the tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium), and Thunberg’s lily (Lilium maculatum). In Japan, the bulbs of gold-banded lilies (Lilium auratum), tiger lilies, and other lilies were used in cooking and as medicine, but the flowers were not much appreciated for their beauty. Some types of Japanese sweets, such as kinton and nerikiri, use lily bulbs.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, as large-flowered lilies became popular in Europe and the Americas, the export of lily bulbs contributed to the acquisition of foreign currencies as the second most important export following silk. In the 1970s, the Casa Blanca oriental lily (Lilium casa blanca), called the “queen of the lilies,” was developed in the Netherlands. Some progenitors of cultivars also came from Japan, among them the gold-banded lily, the Japanese lily, and Lilium nobilissimum. Now, however, Lilium nobilissimum, once endemic to Kuchi Island in the Tokara Islands, is said to be extinct in the wild.
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西武鉄道が運営し、埼玉県所沢市が後援するユリ園。毎年6~7月には50種類のユリを見ることができる。
滋賀県高島市にあるフラワーパーク。毎年7~10月には多くのユリが咲き、ゴンドラに乗って空中から見ることもできる。
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
国立科学博物館は、明治10年(1877)に創立された日本で最も歴史のある博物館の一つで、自然史・科学技術史に関する国立の唯一の総合科学博物館。生物標本から地質・理工・科学史など多岐にわたる資料を保存している。国立科学博物館の筑波実験植物園(つくば植物園)は茨城県つくば市に所在し、多くのユリが植えられている。