Family: Asphodelaceae
Lemon day-lily is a flowering, herbaceous plant. Arising from a bulbous clump are blade-shaped leaves and a solitary (sometimes double), trumpet-shaped, yellow flower. Commonly called lemon day-lily, the showy flowers are open for one, maybe 2, days only. The botanical name comes from the Greek words hemera, meaning day and kallos, meaning beauty; this beauty lasts only one day. The common name is misleading, as this plant is not a lily. An early bloomer when compared with other daylilies, flowering begins in May.
Native to Eastern Asia from Japan to Siberia, the lemon day-lily thrives in Hawaii. One cultivar ‘Nuuanu’’ flowers twice a year, spring and fall. The daylily is not prone to pests. A low maintenance plant, the day lily is drought tolerant and tolerant of poor soil. For vigorous growth, separate the clumping bulbs every few years. This species will naturalize in the garden.
Plant Uses:
- Cut flower
- Erosion control
- Fragrant
- Ornamental
Plant Dangers:
- No dangers
High Risk Traits:
- Naturalized outside native range (Europe, North America)
- Listed as a garden escapee and environmental weed
- Congeneric weed
- Tolerates broad climate versatility (USDA zones 3a–9b)
- Self-compatible (readily forms seed via self-pollination)
- Reproduces vegetatively via creeping rhizomes and root fragments
- Propagules dispersed unintentionally (rhizome fragments)
- Propagules dispersed intentionally by people (ornamental, hybridization)
Low Risk Traits:
- No spines, thorns, or burrs
- No evidence of toxicity to animals or humans
- No evidence of prolific seed production (>1000/m²)
- No evidence of persistent seed bank (>1 year)
- No wind, water, bird, or external animal dispersal adaptations
- Not shade tolerant (requires sun to part shade)
