_L. Medeoloides_ is very imperfectly known. The bulb consists of a large number of small oat-shaped scales very loosely packed together. The leaves are in whorls. The blossoms are frequently upright, and for this reason the plant is often included among the _Isolirions_.
Except as a curiosity, this lily is certainly not worth growing. It is very difficult to manage, and the bulbs almost invariably rot in the winter.
_Lilium Avenaceum_ is another Japanese species which very closely resembles the last; but the flowers invariably bend downwards, and are very slightly spotted. Like the last, it is not worth growing except as a curiosity.
Resembling _L. Pomponium_ in many points, but of far smaller dimensions, and with much more brilliant blossoms is the little _Lilium Tenuifolium_. This little lily inhabits Siberia and differs from most of the species in that the bulb is not truly perennial. Some authorities state that the bulb is annual, but this we do not believe to be correct. It is more likely a triennial species.
This lily must be grown from seed. Fortunately the plant produces seed in abundance, and the seeds germinate freely, often producing a flowering bulb in two years.
In this plant the leaves are extremely thin. The blossoms are about an inch across, of the colour of red sealing-wax. Rarely are more than three blossoms present on each stem. It is a pretty little flower, and makes a good pot-plant.
_Lilium Callosum_, the callous-bracted lily, is something like a magnified version of the last. The leaves are broader and less numerous than in _L. Tenuifolium_. The flowers about an inch and a quarter across, of a vivid scarlet or orange. The bracts are thick and horny, a characteristic which has given the plant its name.
The callous lily likes a rich peaty soil, but it is very accommodating and will grow in most good soils. It is perfectly hardy, and is of little difficulty to cultivate.
We now come to a lily which will always be famous, not so much for its intrinsic beauty—though, to be sure, it is a beautiful plant—but because it is the flower which has generally been considered to be the “lily of the fields,” the only plant mentioned by name by our Saviour.
The lily to which we refer is the scarlet _Martagon_, lily of the fields, lily of Chalcedony, or _Lilium Chalcedonicum_.