Lily Plant

Lily Plant: Lily flower meaning, Traditions and Beliefs

The lily plant belongs to the exclusive group of flowers that have played significant roles in human history. Since the old days the lily plant has always been considered a supreme flower, it has been associated with many ancient legends, it is mentioned in the Old Testament and New Testaments, it symbolizes chastity and virtue. The lily plant was also revered by the Church as the Virgin Mary’s flower because it represents her purity and kindness, that is why the pictures of the Virgin Mary were often decorated with lilies. People also believed that after the death of a person, a lily would begin to grow on its own if the deceased had been a good man.

In both the Christian and pagan traditions, the lily is a fertility symbol. In Greek marriage ceremonies the bride wears a crown of lilies and wheat… purity and abundance. ANother meaning of lilies is death, and at one time lilies were placed on the graves of children.

Facts about the Lily Plant

Lilies are widely spread on Earth, mostly in warm moderate and tropical regions. There are several thousands species of lilies.

• The Easter Lily is an edible plant and can be eaten for lunch and dinner.
• The lily plant has no true medicinal value, although In Elizabethan times, lilies were one of the ingredients in medicines to treatment fever, or for cleaning wounds, burns and sores, and the Romans used this flower to cure callosities with the juice of its bulbs.
• Attention! Cat-owners should be aware that lilies can be highly poisonous to cats and keep their pets away from these plants!
• Read more Facts about flowers

Lily Plant: History

Lilies have been cultivated for over 3000 years, and their history goes back to 3500 years when the Greeks brought the lily from Asia, first of all for medicinal purposes. As time went by, they began to find other applications for it: as a cosmetic and medicine, then as a vegetable, as a flower. The Greek artists loved to draw it and finally the lily became the official flower of three Greek goddesses!

The history of the lily tells us about a man called Ernest Wilson, also called “Chinese Wilson” because he introduced at least a thousand new plant species to the West from China. The story of introduction the regal lily to the West is probably the most famous one: this great English plant hunter had a narrow escape from death, only to bring the Lily to the West. In 1910 he went to China to collect the lily bulbs. On his way back with 6,000 bulbs, he was caught in a rockslide on a precipitous mountain path and had his leg broken in two places. Wilson continued his way with an improvised splint from his camera tripod. But another avalanche was inevitable and mule train of 50 animals came up the narrow path where there was no room for them to pass or turn. So Wilson asked his men to place him across the path so the mules could step over him, which they did and continued the journey safe. Wilson and his bulbs survived the journey, but gangrene atrophied his leg and he limped thereafter, bravely calling it a “lily limp” .

Lily Plant: Legends

The Greeks attributed divine origin to the lily plant. According to one legend, lilies appeared from drops of milk fallen from Hera, the wife of Zeus. Strolling in her garden one day, Hera discovered a small child in the bushes. Obeying her womanly instincts, she resolved to give it shelter and feed it. But the infant, whose name was Heracles, behaved obstinately and bit the goddess. Milk sprayed in all directions. The drops that flew into the sky formed the Milky Way, and wondrous, snow-white flowers grew out of the few drops that fell to the ground.

But the most famous history of the lily plant begins during the rule of King Clovis of the Franks. Founder of the Frankish state he, like every other ruler of that epoch, spent his time in endless campaigns and battles. Seeing that his opponent was gaining the upper hand in the battle at Tolbiac, he prayed: “Christian God whom my wife, Clothilda, worships (she was a Catholic), help me gain victory. I believe in You!” At that moment a snow-white angel appeared before him holding a wreath of lilies. “Now, this is your weapon. Protect and preserve it for your descendants,” said the divine messenger, giving the lilies to Clovis. The heavenly sign inspired Clovis and his warriors with amazing fervor. Each with the strength of ten men, they fell upon the enemy and defeated him utterly. As he had promised, Clovis called his people together, and in 496 set out for Reims to receive baptism. And he made lilies his emblem, placing them on his battle flag. The lilies personified the three virtues that every king must possess: compassion, mercy, and justice. Later, the lily plant became a symbol of the Bourbon dynasty, and a symbol of monarchic power in France, as well.