Easter Lily

I thought the Easter Lily would be the perfect plant to end this short series on plants of Easter week. Easter lilies start to appear in hardware, drug, and flower shops several weeks before Easter. Who can resist the pure simplicity of their white trumpet flowers, long stalks, and dark green leaves? Easter lilies are symbolic of purity, hope, innocence, peace, and rebirth.

I didn’t realize that the Easter lilies that adorn our homes and churches originate from Japan and Taiwan, not the Mediterranean. The most common lily grown is Lilium longiflorum, which is in the Liliaceae family. Bulbs were brought to the United States and cultivated after World War I. They are grown predominately on the West Coast in Oregon and California. The bulbs must be forced to bloom close to Easter, and growers have developed many practices to ensure this timing. Over 11 million lilies are sold annually in the Easter season.

Easter lilies sold at a local drugstore.

Lilies are associated with the Easter story by tradition. Legend has it that Easter lilies sprang from Jesus’ tears in the Garden of Gethsemane. A line in the Song of Songs compares the lover with a lily of the valley, and Jesus refers to lilies of the field in his parable in Matthew 6 and Luke 12. But these references were most likely general references to beautiful flowers, not a specific flower type. This knowledge does not diminish my enjoyment of these beautiful flowers. Easter lilies are still a fine tradition for celebrating the Easter season.

Learn more:

Easter lilies: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/lily/lily.html

Neot Kedumim, The Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel (plant list): http://www.n-k.org.il/public/english/what/trails/plantlist.htm

Old Dominion University (plant list): http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/allbibleplantslist.php