國花系列:LILY (智利)

Name: Lilium candidum was the most significant flower symbol for Christians and suggested purity. As a symbol of purity associated with virgins it became known as the Madonna Lily.

Origin: One of the first descriptions of the lily dates from the Chinese Middle Ages "the plant flowers until late autumn and there are three types, red, yellow and purple".

Colour: Some forms (Lilium longiflorum, L. candidum, oriental lilies) are highly perfumed but white only; others (asiatic lilies) are highly coloured but scent-free

Availability: All year.

Care Tips: Remove the pollen stamens by pinching them together and pulling them up out of the flower. This prolongs the flower's life as well. Use sellotape to remove pollen, not water which will fix the stain.

Mythology: In Greek poetry, the lily stood for tenderness. It was also referred to as the voice of cicadas or of the muses. There is a Greek myth that tells us how the lily was born from the milk of the goddess Hera. The lily still symbolises pure, virginal love in the Christian world.

Medicinal: In the past, various flowers were used to prepare remedies in popular medicine. In China some served as lucky charms, while others were thought to be capable of averting the evil eye. In another historical account we read that people were interested in lilies for their anti-toxic powers and their capacity of curing depressions. In Europe, too, lilies were used as a remedy against a wide range of diseases and ailments right up to the beginning of the last century




學名：Lilium
別名：百合蒜、中逢花等。

科屬：百合科百合屬

產地及分佈：中國、日本、北美和歐洲等溫帶地區。百合花姿雅緻，葉片青翠娟秀，莖幹亭亭玉立，是名貴的切花新秀。

形態特徵：鱗片的外性是種的分類依據之一。多數百合的鱗片爲披針形，無節，鱗片多爲復瓦狀排列於鱗莖盤上，組成鱗莖。莖表面通常綠色，或有棕色斑紋，或幾乎全棕紅色。莖通常圓柱形，無毛。葉呈螺旋狀散生排列，少輪生。葉形有披針形、矩圓狀披針形和倒披針形、橢圓形或條形。葉無柄或具短柄。葉全緣或有小乳頭狀突起。花大、單生、簇生或呈總狀花序。花朵直立、下垂或平伸，花色常鮮豔。花被片6枚，分2輪，離生，常有靠合而成鐘形、喇叭形。花色有白、黃、粉、紅等多種顏色。雄蕊6枚，花絲細長，花葯橢圓較大。

生長習性：百合耐寒，但最適生長溫度在15--25度之間，低於10度或高於30度均生長不良。百合一般喜在ph值爲5.5--6.5的偏酸性土壤及容重在1克/立方厘米以下富含腐殖質的土壤。忌水淹，喜半陰環境，但過度廕庇會引起花莖徒長和花蕾脫落。





在遙遠的古代，智利的百合花只有藍、白兩色。公元16世主己，印第安人阿拉烏加諾部族，與西班牙殖民者進行了不屈不捕的抗爭。在民族英雄勞塔羅的領導下，阿拉烏加諾人把爾侵者打得落花流水，狼狽逃竄。正當義軍節節勝利之際，卻由於叛徒的出賣，仲塔羅和他的3萬名愛國將士誤中殖民主義者埋伏，經過浴血奮戰，全部壯烈犧牲。第二年在天，愛國愛國志士捐軀的地方，漫山遍野綻開了紅豔豔的百合花--"戈比愛"人們認爲這是烈士們今血澆灌過的藍色、白色百合變成的。因此，在智利獲得國家獨立後，人們一致贊成將"戈比愛"定爲國花。智利國構思奇巧的國徽國案上，有一族美麗多姿、質樸可愛的花束，它就是一束紅色的野百合花。