Previously, on Backyard Botanist, zoologist called pandas “lazy”, and we discovered the wonders of Echinacea. This installment will be just as exciting as we are covering the ditch lily!

More specifically Hemerocallis fulva, the orange daylily or ditch lily, is a common sight during most of the North American summer season. Like many plants called “lily”, orange daylily isn’t a true lily. The flowers are just lily-like. The “day” part comes from each bloom only lasting a day. 

Daylily is an herbaceous, grass-like perennial that grows from a basal rosette of upright, bowing leaves and flower stalks 3 to 6 ft. (1-1.8 m) high. As the name suggests, each blossom lasts about a day. Orange daylilies, Hemerocallis fulva, are said to be among the tastiest of edible flowers. 

Flowers: There is a vast assortment of daylily flowers. The Hemerocallis fulva flower has 5-inch (12 cm) tawny orange, upright facing, tubular, six petaled flowers surrounding the lighter colored center with a pale line running up the center of each petal. Each flower stalk can hold 10 to 20 flowers, which open in succession.

Leaves: Leaves are grass-like, 1 to 3 ft. (0.3-0.9 m) tall, clump forming, and arching in a light green color. Cordage can be made by plaiting the older leaves.

Edible parts: flowers, flower buds, young shoots, and roots

Medicinal properties: May help fevers, pain, and infection. Daylily has been used as a laxative, a diuretic, febrifuge, and has strong antioxidant properties. Chinese herbalists claim to have used this plant as a sedative, painkiller, to reduce fever, for childbirth, breast cancer, and as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders.

Essential properties: energy, joy, and power

Magical properties: It is said that daylily essence can support you in opening your more feminine or receptive forces that allow for input and collaboration of ideas and direction, helping you to learn the benefits of group harmony while learning to relax in the back seat. Sounds pretty interesting. I'll cover how to make your own flower essences soon.

How to harvest and eat: Pick freshly opened flowers to decorate salads or to blanch and dry. Unopened flower buds are absolutely delicious, full of iron, and can be eaten raw or cooked. Young shoots and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked before they become too fibrous. Young tubers can be eaten raw or cooked and taste like small, sweet fingerling potatoes.

Warning: Hemerocallis are toxic to cats

Poisonous look-alikes: Iris - There are over 200 species of Iris, and the entire plant is more toxic than your ex.

Pan Fried Daylily Buds

Ingredients:
two handfuls of closed daylily buds
butter
salt

Harvest buds before they open and gently rinse. In a heated pan, melt butter and add salt. Toss buds in and fry for around 15 minutes. The buds should be tender like green beans when they're ready. They are best served warm and make an excellent side dish. 

As always, I hope we've all learned something new. I'm Melissa and this is Backyard Botanist.

Next time, on Backyard Botanist, heavy rain raises the summer humidity in the North American mid-west, and we discuss the Wild False Strawberry, Potentilla indica (ROSACEAE).