How to tell a daylily from a lily
Novice flower growers often think that daylily and lily are one and the same plant. However, this is not at all the case.
Distinguishing a lily from a daylily is not at all difficult, you just need to carefully examine the plants and pay attention to the following points:
- root system;
- aerial deciduous part;
- inflorescences.
Both flowers are perennials and belong to the same class of monocotyledonous plants, but they are representatives of different families: lily - from liliaceae, daylily - from xanthorrhea.
Root system structure
Root system lilies presented in the form of an onion. When it germinates, roots begin to develop on the bottom, through which the bulb feeds on nutrients contained in the soil and delivers them further to the aboveground part.
Daylily, in turn, has a powerful thick rhizome without any hint of bulbs.
Based on the characteristic features of the root system, lilies reproduce by bulbs, and daylilies by dividing rhizomes.
The structure of the deciduous part
The daylily looks like a dense bush. Long and narrow green leaves begin to grow out of the ground. Over time, the rosette grows, new "bunches" appear and the bush turns into a clump of decent diameter, if not planted.
Lilies, on the other hand, begin to drive an arrow straight from the bulb, with one bulb - one arrow, that is, the trunk. The trunk is overgrown with narrow leaves and, during flowering, throws out buds at the top. Since their number in some varieties can reach up to 50 pieces, the arrow has a very dense structure to support this weight. But regardless of the variety, all lilies have strong and resistant trunks.
Lilies are more whimsical to care for, and daylilies will not cause much trouble, moreover, they have a higher vitality.
Flowering features
During flowering, the daylily bush throws out many long peduncles, towering above the foliage, on the tops of which there are several inflorescences. The height of the peduncle can reach 1 m, and the number of flowers on it is up to 10 pieces.
Lily, on the other hand, forms flowers on the stem with leaves, but also at its top. She does not have a separate peduncle.
Unlike lilies, which have flowers for some time, daylilies are called "one-day", since one inflorescence blooms for only one day.