I saw this lily while walking at Beartown Lakes. It's the first time I've seen one - looks like a Canada Lily but has only a single bloom on a long stem. About 2 ft high. (and someone told me Canada lilies only grow in the wild where there has been a forest fire?) Just wondering how common it is in this area and what it is? Thank you!
Thank you for your question. This is a Canada Lily. They are often found on forest edges, especially in floodplains in some of our river and stream valleys around here. They do not need fire, but grow best where there is disturbance of the forest canopy which then allows sunlight to reach the lilies. You mention that it only has one bloom and is about two feet tall. Your suspicion that they can get bigger and with more blooms is correct. It takes around five years for a plant to bloom, and younger plants will be smaller with fewer blooms on them. Older, mature plants may have over 20 blooms and reach heights of six feet or more!Â
These plants are not as common in Ohio as they once were due to people picking the blooms or digging them up, and they are also eaten by deer.
Great find and thank you for sharing!
-Naturalist Andy Avram
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