Lilies That Aren’t Lilium
Daylily, water lily, voodoo lily – many flowers are called lilies that are not true lilies, members of the genus Lilium. To help you find the “lily” you’re seeking, here’s a list of about 250 along with the botanical name of each.
If you can think of any others, email us and we’ll add them here. Thanks to our friends at the North American Lily Society for permission to adapt this list from their Judges Training Handbook.
| Common Name | Botanical Name |
|---|---|
| adobe lily | Fritillaria plurifolia |
| Afghan lily | Schizostyllis coccinea |
| African blue lily | Agapanthus africanus and others |
| African corn lily | Ixia maculata |
| Amazon lily | Eucharis grandiflora |
| American wood lily | Trillium |
| angel lily | Ismene calathina and others |
| arum lily | Arisaema, Zantedeschia aethiopica, and others |
| asphodel lily | Asphodeline lutea, also Hemerocallis |
| atamasco lily | Zephyranthes atamasco |
| August lily | Amaryllis belladonna, also Hosta |
| Australian giant lily | Doryanthes palmeri |
| Australian lily | Blandfordia, Eustrephus |
| Australian spear lily | Doryanthes palmeri |
| Australian sword lily | Anigozanthos manglesii |
| avalanche lily | Erythronium grandiflorum, montanum, and others |
| Aztec lily | Sprekelia formossissima |
| Barbados lily | Amaryllis belladonna |
| basket lily | Hymenocallis calathina |
| bead lily | Clintonia |
| belladonna lily | Amaryllis belladonna |
| Bengal lily | Crinum zeylanicum |
| Bethlehem lily | Eucharis grandiflora |
| blackberry lily | Belamcanda chinensis |
| black lily | Fritillaria camschatcensis |
| blood lily | Haemanthus coccineus |
| blue lily | Ixiolirion pallasi |
| blue lily of the Nile | Agapanthus umbellatus |
| blue tinsel lily | Calectasia cyanea |
| Brisbane lily | Eurycles |
| Brodie’s lily | Brevoortia |
| Buddhist lily | Nelumbium |
| bugle lily | Watsonia |
| bunch lily | Melanthera and others |
| butterfly lily | Hedychium coronarium and others |
| cabbage tree lily | Cordyline australis |
| Caffir lily | Clivia miniata |
| calla lily | Zantedeschia aethiopica and others |
| camas lily | Camassia |
| canna lily | Canna |
| Cape belladonna lily | Brunsvigia |
| Cape coast lily | Crinum |
| Cape lily | Crinum longiflorum and others, also Agapanthus |
| Caribbean lily | Hymenocallis or Ismene |
| celestial lily | Iris kaempferi |
| chamise lily | Erythronium grandiflorum |
| Chatham Island lily | Myosotidium nobile |
| checkered lily | Fritillaria meleagris |
| chicken gizzard lily | Crinum |
| Chilean lily | Alstroemeria chilensis and others |
| Chinese sacred lily | Narcissus tazetta cultivar |
| chocolate lily | Fritillaria-biflora and others, Dichopogon |
| climbing lily | Gloriosa |
| club lily | Kniphofia |
| cluster lily | Hookera |
| coffee lily | Schizostylis coccinina |
| Corfu lily | Hosta subplantaginea |
| corn lily | Gladiolus, Ixia, and others |
| cowboy lily | Oenothera |
| cow lily | Nuphar advena |
| crinum lily | Crinum |
| crown imperial lily | Fritillaria imperialis |
| curly lily | Erythronium giganteum |
| custard lily | Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus |
| daffodil lily | Amaryllis |
| darling lily | Crinum |
| daylily | Hemerocallis |
| delicate lily | Clidanthus fragrans |
| desert lily | Hesperocallis undulata |
| Egyptian lily | Zantedeschia aethiopica |
| eucharis lily | Eucharis grandiflora |
| evening lily | Callirhoe |
| fairy lily | Zephyranthes |
| fawn lily | Erythronium including albidum, montanum, etc. |
| fireball lily | Haemanthus |
| flax lily | Dianella |
| fleur-de-lis | Iris, especially pseudacorus |
| football lily | Haemanthus |
| foxtail lily | Eremurus |
| fringe lily | Thysanotus |
| frost lily | Cooperia |
| garland lily | Calostemma |
| ginger lily | Hedychium |
| glacier lily | Erythronium, including parviflorum |
| glory lily | Gloriosa rothschildiana |
| golden lily | Lycoris aurea |
| grass lily | Hesperolirion, Sisyrinchium, and Caesia |
| ground lily | Trillium, Zephyranthes |
| Guernsey lily | Nerine sarniensis |
| gumbo lily | Oenothera or Pachylophus |
| heartleaf lily | Cardiocrinum |
| hidden lily | Curcuma |
| Homer’s lily | Allium nigrum |
| honeysuckle lily | Hedychium |
| hurricane lily | Lycoris, Rhodophiala |
| ifafa lily | Cyrtanthus |
| Inca lily | Alstroemeria pelegrina |
| Indian lily | Camassia |
| ismene lily | Ismene calathina |
| ixia lily | Ixia |
| Jacobean lily | Sprekelia formosissima |
| Japanese spider lily | Nerine |
| Japanese toad lily | Tricyrtis sp |
| Jersey lily | Vallota speciosa |
| Jerusalem lily | Crocosmia |
| Josephine’s lily | Brunsvigia josephinae |
| joss lily | Narcissus tazetta selection |
| Kaffir lily | Schizostylis coccinea |
| kings crown lily | Fritillaria imperialis |
| lemon lily | Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus |
| Lent lily | Narcissus pseudonarcissus |
| leopard lily | Lachenalia |
| lily leek | Allium moly |
| lily of a day | Tradescantia |
| lily of Peru | Alstroemeria, Mirabilis jalapa |
| lily of the desert | Hesperocallis |
| lily of the field | Sternbergia |
| lily of the Incas | Alstroemeria, possibly pelegrina |
| lily of the Nile | Agapanthus africanus, etc. |
| lily of the valley | Convallaria majalis |
| lilythorn | Catesbaea |
| lilytree | Crinodendron hookerianum |
| lily turf | Lirope, Ophiopogon (mondo grass) |
| Loddon lily | Leucojum |
| lotus lily | Nelumbo |
| Mabel Island lily | Arthropodium |
| magic lily | Lycoris squamigera |
| magnolia lily | Nuttallia |
| Malabar glory lily | Gloriosa superba |
| mariposa lily | Calochortus |
| matthiole lily | Pancratium maritimum |
| meadow lily | many, including Lilium canadense |
| Mediterranean lily | Pancratium maritimum |
| Mexican daylily | Tigridia |
| Mexican lily, Mexican scarlet lily | Sprekelia formossiam |
| milk and wine lily | Crinum, several |
| miracle lily | Lycoris squamigera |
| Moreton Bay lily | Eurycles |
| mound lily | Yucca |
| mountain lily | Ranunculus lyalli |
| Mozambique lily | Gloriosa |
| Murray lily | Crinum |
| mystery lily | Lycoris |
| naked lily, naked lady lily | Lycoris squamigera, Amaryllis belladonna |
| Natal lily | Clivia |
| nodding blue lily | Stypandra glauca |
| New Zealand flax lily | Phormium tenax |
| onion lily | Ornithogalum caudatum |
| orange lily | Hemerocallis, especially fulva |
| Orinoco lily | Crinum moorei |
| oxblood lily | Rhodophiala, Haemanthus, Habranthus advenum |
| palm lily | Yucca |
| paradise lily | Paradisea liliastrum |
| parrot lily | Alstroemeria pulchella |
| parrot lily (South Africa) | Gladiolus psittacinus (dalenii) |
| Persian lily | Fritillaria persica |
| Peruvian lily | Alstroemeria |
| Peruvian swamp lily | Zephyranthes |
| pineapple lily | Eucomis undulata, Curcuma |
| pink lily | Aphyllanthes |
| pitcher lily | Darlingtonia |
| plantain lily | Hosta |
| polyanthus lily | Narcissus tazetta cultivars, Polianthes tuberosa |
| pond lily | Nymphaea |
| prairie lily | Cooperia, also Mentzelia |
| purple dragon lily | Drancunculus |
| purple lily tree | Magnolia |
| Queensland spear lily | Doryanthes |
| queens lily | Amaryllis, Curcuma petiolata |
| rain lily | Zephyranthes, Cooperia |
| red mint lily | Monarda didyma |
| resurrection lily | Lycoris, Kaempferia rotunda |
| rocket lily (New Zealand) | Arthropodium cirrhatum |
| rock lily | Dendrobium speciosum, Mentzelia |
| royal Brunswick lily | Brunsvigia |
| rush lily | Sowerbaea |
| sacred Aztec lily | Tigridia |
| sacred lily (China) | Narcissus tazetta selection |
| sacred lily (India) | Amorphophallus |
| sacred tiger lily | Tigridia |
| Saint Bernard lily | Anthericum liliago |
| Saint Bruno lily | Anthericum liliastrum |
| Saint James lily | Sprekelia formosissima |
| Saint John’s lily | Clivia, Gladiolus communis |
| Saint Joseph’s lily | Hippeastrum x johnsonii |
| Saint Michael’s lily | Hemerocallis |
| sand lily | Leucocrinum montanum, Hypoxis hirsuta |
| sasparilla lily | Kreysigia multiflora |
| Scarborough lily | Valotta purpurea |
| scrambling lily | Geitonoplesium cymosum |
| schoolhouse lily | Lycoris radiata, Rhodphiala bifida |
| sego lily | Calochortus nuttalli |
| shepherd’s lily | Ranunculus lyallii |
| snake lily | Brodia volubilis |
| soap lily | Yucca |
| Solomon’s lily | Arum palastinum |
| spear lily | Doryanthes, Gladiolus |
| spider lily | Pancratium maritimum, Hymenocallis calathina |
| spire lily | Galtonia candicans |
| spring lily | Erythronium albidum and others |
| star lily | Hypoxis, Leucocrinus, Milla biflora |
| swamp lily | Nymphaea alba, Crinum americanum, Ottelia ovalifolia |
| sword lily | Gladiolus |
| tawny lily | Hemerocallis fulva |
| thong lily | Clivia, Imantophyllum |
| tiger lily | anything orange and/or spotted |
| toad cup lily | Marica |
| toad lily | Tricyrtis, Fritillaria meleagris |
| torch lily | Kniphofia, Doryanthes excelsa |
| tree lily, or lily tree | Magnolia denudata |
| trinity lily | Trillium |
| triplet lily | Brodiaea (Tritelia) laxa |
| trout lily | Erythronium |
| trumpet lily | Zantedeschia (calla lily) |
| tufted blue lily | Stypandra caespitosa |
| two leaf lily | Maianthemum bifolium |
| tanilla lily | Arthropodium or Dichopogon |
| toodoo lily | Arum cornutum |
| wand lily | Eremurus |
| water lily | Nyphaea |
| white bead lily | Clintonia |
| white globe lily | Calochortus albus |
| white mountain lily | Erythronium montanum |
| white star lily | Milla biflora |
| Whitsun lily | Narcissus poeticus |
| wood lily | Trillium |
| yellow bead lily | Clintonia umbellata |
| yucca lily | Yucca |
| zephyr lily | Zephyranthes |
For the true heirloom lilies we offer, click here.
