What’s up — wood lily

Wood lily preference is for open woods. (Photo by Larry Halverson)

The wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum) is one of Kootenay’s more easily recognized flowers. And there is a good show of them right now near Mount Wardle as they brighten the highway meridian with their orange-red flaming trumpets.

Some call these flowers ‘tiger lilies’ because of the spots on the petals, but they are not. The true tiger lily (Lilium columbianum) has downward-hanging flowers and are not found in the Rocky Mountain national parks, although they have been recorded in the Columbia Valley. The wood lily flowers lack the characteristic scent associated with lilies. But I’d be careful about getting your nose too close anyway, as there is a superstition that smelling them will give you freckles!