In sorting through a box of collected seeds I ran across an envelope
a former classmate gifted me. She knew I liked lilies. She labeled them “Turk’s
Cap / Tiger lilies.” She said they grew very tall. I am not in touch with her
anymore, and I doubt she’d know much more anyway.

In my mind, turks cap are species lilies, as can grow in
woodlands, and tiger lilies are something else entirely. If these are REALLY
turks cap lilies, like superbum, I would like to grow them in the shady area
where I grow my martagons, hostas, and ferns. I used to walk through a small wood in
Evanston IL 30 years ago that was home to a small colony of dark red-orange species
lilies. It was magical. I think my lily love dates from then. I have tried in vain to find it again, I think
it was like Brigadoon…it appears only once in a hundred years.

If they are tiger lilies, I am much less interested. I have
heard from my lily society that they can be vectors of disease, and I don’t
want to risk my collection. The “Typhoid Mary of the lily world,” they were
called. I would probably toss them.

The seeds are a little smaller than an orange seed, and
black. Could someone clarify this for me? Thanks.