Lilium columbianum

Summary: 
Tiger Lily, Columbia Lily
Description: 

Lilium columbianum Leichtlin is a tall monocot with a slender stem up to 1 m long with many whorls of narrow, lance-shaped leaves. The flowers are bright orange with dark spots near the centers.

The white bulbs are somewhat similar in appearnce to garlic cloves with numerous thick, fleshy scales. The bulbs of L. columbianum are concentric, up to 4x4 cm, with fleshy, lanceolate scales or leaves clustered around a central growing point. Two to 3 mm in diameter roots grow from the basal plate.

Cultural Narrative: 

Bulbs were boiled or steamed to temper the bitter taste, sometimes with lichen (Bryoria spp.), and occasionally dried in the sun after cooking (Turner 1977:468; 2007:74). Teit (1900:237) reports that L. columbianum and Lomatium macrocarpum (desert parsley) were boiled with salmon roe. 

Location Description: 

Damp open woods and meadows, found across most meadows.