Native to the Balkans and Middle East this herbaceous perennial bulb has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years dating back to the Bronze age Minoans on the island of Crete where it was grown for both medicinal and ornamental purposes. Plants grow 4-6′ tall and have rigid leafy stems that produce up to 20 trumpet-shaped flowers in late spring to early summer. The flowers have 6 white reflexed tepals flushed with yellow at the base, and six prominent stamens bearing anthers with bright yellow pollen (toxic to cats). They are 2-3″ long, outward facing, and very fragrant. Unlike most lilies, the Madonna lily produces a basal rosette of leaves in the winter that dies back in the summer.
The Madonna lily has been revered since ancient times and was considered a symbol of beauty, fertility and wealth. The ancient Egyptian dedicated it to Isis, the goddess of motherhood and a fertile earth, the ancient Greeks associated it with Hera, the goddess of fertility and protector of women, and the Bible mentions it several times in the Song of Songs and when describing the decor of Solomon’s temple,. By the 5th century when is was absorbed into Christianity it represented purity, chastity, and elegance, and by the Middle Ages was associated with the Virgin Mary. The Venerable Bede (672/73–735), a Benedictine monk, compared Mary to a white lily, with the petals symbolizing her pure body and the golden anthers the radiance of her soul. Saint Bernard (1090–1153) described Mary as” the lily of chastity” .
Early artists began creating many works depicting the events in the life of the Virgin Mary. After Pope Urban VI instituted the Feast of the Visitation in1389 to commemorate the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, artists began to include a vase of Madonna lilies in their depiction of the event, usually with 3 blossoms, the pure white tepals symbolic of her chaste body and the six yellow anthers symbolizing God’s heavenly light, as seen here in Giotto’s work (in the upper middle of the work.)
Likewise, the depiction of the Annunciation usually included lilies (lower right) to symbolize Mary’s purity as seen here in the work of Hans Memling (Netherlandish, 1480-89)
Often the angel Gabriel carried a spray of Madonna lilies as he addressed Mary as here in the work of Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 – 1469)
Madonna lilies like full sun to partial shade and average, medium moist, well-drained soil in USDA Hardiness Zones 6-9. Plants do not tolerate dry soil and are damaged by many diseases especially Botrytis. Propagation is by seed or division of bulblets but seed propagation reduces the occurrence of disease.
The genus name, Lilium, is from the Greek word λείριον (leiron), used to refer to a white lily perhaps the Madonna lily. The specific epithet, candidum, is the Latin word meaning white and refers to the color of the flower.
All photo Credits: Wikipedia