Lilium formosanum
NPPA pest plant
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
Formosan lily
Family
Liliaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
LILFOR
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial, Disturbed areas, Roadsides, Dunes.
Detailed description
Perennial herb with simple stem to about 75 cm. Stems root freely at ground level. Many dark-green strap-like leaves to about 13 cm long. Large white trumpet-like flowers, often tinged purple on the outside.
Similar taxa
The large white flowers tinged purple make this lily quite distinctive.
Flowering
January, February, March
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
Feb-April
Life cycle
Reproduces by vegetative spread and seed. Dispersed by people, gravity and water.
Year naturalised
1972
Origin
Taiwan
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Tolerant of salt,
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
References and further reading
Cameron, E.K. 1989. Lilium formosanum ii. Auckland Botanical Society Journal, 44:48-49.