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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Daylily
| image = Day_lily.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Hybrid daylily 'Tom Collins'
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Hemerocallidaceae]]
| genus = '''''Hemerocallis'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}

'''Daylilies''' comprise the small [[genus]] '''''Hemerocallis''''' of flowering plants in the family [[Hemerocallidaceae]]. They are not true lilies which are ''[[Lilium]]'' in [[Liliaceae]].

== Description ==
The name ''Hemerocallis'' comes from the [[Greek words]] {{polytonic|ἡμέρα}} (hēmera) "day" and {{polytonic|καλός}} (kalos) "beautiful". The flowers of most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, possibly replaced by another one on the same stem the next day. Some species are night-blooming. Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal [[florist|flower arranging]], yet they make good cut flowers otherwise as new flowers continue to open on cut stems over several days.

Originally native from [[Europe]] to [[China]], [[Korea]], and [[Japan]], their large showy flowers have made them popular worldwide. There are over 60,000 registered [[cultivar]]s. Only a few cultivars are scented. Some cultivars rebloom later in the season, particularly if their developing seedpods are removed.

Daylilies occur as a clump including leaves, the crown, and the roots. The long, often linear [[lanceolate]] leaves are grouped into flat fans with leaves arching out to both sides. The crown of a daylily is the small white portion between the leaves and the roots, an essential part of the fan. Along the flower stem or [[scape (botany)|scape]], small leafy "proliferations" may form at [[node (botany)|node]]s or in [[bract]]s. These proliferations form roots when planted and are the exact [[cloning|clone]]s of the parent plant. Some daylilies show elongated widenings along the roots, made by the plant mostly for water storage and an indication of good health.

The flower consists of three [[petal]]s and three [[sepal]]s, collectively called [[tepals]], each with a [[midrib]] in the same or in a contrasting color. The centermost section of the flower, called the throat, has usually a different and contrasting color. There are six [[stamen]]s, each with a two-lobed [[anther]]. After [[pollination]], the flower forms a pod.

Daylilies can be grown in USDA plant [[hardiness zone]]s 1 through 11, making them some of the most adaptable [[landscape]] plants. Most of the cultivars have been developed within the last 100 years. The large-flowered clear yellow 'Hyperion', introduced in the 1920s, heralded a return to gardens of the once-dismissed daylily, and is still widely available. Daylily [[plant breeding|breeding]] has been a specialty in the United States, where their heat- and drought-resistance made them garden standbys during the later 20th century. New cultivars have sold for thousands of dollars, but sturdy and prolific introductions soon reach reasonable prices.

[[Image:Orange Daylily.jpg|thumb|left|275px|'Kwanzo' - a triple-flowered [[triploid]] cultivar]]
[[Tawny Daylily]] ''[[Hemerocallis fulva]]'', and sweet-scented ''H. lilioasphodelus'' (''H. flava'' is an illegitimate name), colloquially called Lemon Lily, were early imports from England to 17th century American gardens and soon established themselves. Tawny Daylily is so widely growing wild that it is often considered a native wildflower. It is called Roadside or Railroad Daylily, and gained the nickname Wash-house or Outhouse Lily because it was frequently planted at such buildings.

Hemerocallis is one of the most hybridized of all garden plants, with registrations of new hybrids being made in the thousands each year in the search for new traits. Hybridizers have extended the plant's color range from the yellow, orange, and pale pink of the species, to vibrant reds, purples, lavenders, greenish tones, near-black, near-white, and more. However, a blue daylily is a milestone yet to be reached.

Other flower traits that hybridizers develop include height, scent, ruffled edges, contrasting "eyes" in the center of the bloom, and an illusion of glitter or "diamond dust." Sought-after improvements in foliage include color, variegation, disease resistance, the ability to form large, neat clumps and being evergreen or semi-evergreen instead of [[herbaceous]] (also known as "dormant" — the foliage dies back during the winter.)

A recent trend in hybridizing is to focus on [[tetraploid]] plants, with thicker petal substance and sturdier stems. Until this trend took root, nearly all daylilies were [[diploid]]. "Tets," as they are called by aficionados, have double the number of chromosomes as a diploid plant.<ref name="UNL">[http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=204 Daylilies] undated info page at [[University of Nebraska]]. Accessed August 1, 2007.</ref> Only one cultivar is known to be [[triploid]], the brilliant orange 'Kwanzo' or 'Kwanso,' which cannot set seed and is reproduced solely by underground runners ([[stolon]]s) and division. Usually referred to as a "double," meaning producing flowers with double the usual number of petals (''e.g.'', daylily 'Double Grapette'), 'Kwanzo' actually produces triple the usual number of petals.

==Culinary use==
[[Image:Dry Day Lily.jpg|thumb|left|275px|Dried golden needles]]
[[Image:Daylilysoup.jpg|thumb|right|275px|A bowl of daylily soup]]
The flowers of some species are edible and are used in [[Chinese cuisine]]. They are sold (fresh or dried) in [[Asian supermarket|Asian markets]] as '''gum jum''' or '''golden needles''' ([[wiktionary:金针|金针]] in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]; pinyin: jīnzhēn) or '''yellow flower vegetables''' ([[wiktionary: 黄花菜|黃花菜]] in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]; pinyin: huánghuācài). They are used in [[hot and sour soup]], daylily soup (金針花湯), [[Buddha's delight]], and [[moo shu pork]]. The young green leaves and the [[tuber]]s of some (but not all{{Fact|date=February 2007}}) species are also edible. The plant has also been used for medicinal purposes.

== Species ==
This is a list of [[species]], not of [[cultivars]], which number in the thousands:

* ''[[Hemerocallis altissima]]'' Stout
* ''[[Hemerocallis aurantiaca]]'' Baker
* ''[[Hemerocallis citrina]]'' Baroni
[[Image:Hemerocallis minor0.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''[[Hemerocallis minor]]'' dried seed pods]]
* ''[[Hemerocallis cordata]]'' C.P.Thunberg ex A. Murray
* ''[[Hemerocallis coreana]]'' Nakai
* ''[[Hemerocallis darrowiana]]'' S.Y.Hu
* ''[[Hemerocallis dumortierii]]'' Morr
* ''[[Hemerocallis esculenta]]'' Koidz.
* ''[[Hemerocallis exaltata]]'' Stout
* ''Hemerocallis ×exilis'' Satake
* ''[[Hemerocallis forrestii]]'' Diels
* ''[[Hemerocallis fulva]]'' L. : Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Tiger Lily, Ditch Lily
* ''[[Hemerocallis hakuunensis]]'' Nakai
* ''[[Hemerocallis hongdoensis]]'' M.G.Chung & S.S.Kang
* ''Hemerocallis ×hybrida'' (hort.)
* ''[[Hemerocallis japonica]]'' C.P.Thunberg ex A. Murray
* ''[[Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus]]'' L, ''Hemerocallis flava'' L, Lemon Lily, Yellow daylily
* ''[[Hemerocallis littorea]]'' Makino
* ''[[Hemerocallis micrantha]]'' Nakai
* ''[[Hemerocallis middendorffii]]'' Trautv. & Mey.
* ''[[Hemerocallis minor]]'' Mill.
[[Image:Hemerocallis-thunbergii1web.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Hemerocallis thunbergii'']]
* ''[[Hemerocallis multiflora]]'' Stout
* ''[[Hemerocallis nana]]'' W.W.Sm. & Forrest
* ''Hemerocallis ×ochroleuca'' (hort. ex Bergmans)
* ''[[Hemerocallis pedicellata]]'' Nakai
* ''[[Hemerocallis plicata]]'' Stapf
* ''[[Hemerocallis sempervirens]]'' Araki
* ''[[Hemerocallis sendaica]]'' Ohwi
* ''[[Hemerocallis serotina]]'' Focke
* ''Hemerocallis ×stoutiana'' Traub (hort.)
* ''[[Hemerocallis sulphurea]]'' Nakai
* ''[[Hemerocallis taeanensis]]'' S.S.Kang & M.G.Chung
* ''[[Hemerocallis thunbergii]]'' Baker
* ''Hemerocallis ×traubara'' Moldenke (hort.)
* ''Hemerocallis ×traubiana'' Moldenke (hort.)
* ''[[Hemerocallis vespertina]]'' Hara
* ''[[Hemerocallis washingtonia]]'' Traub
* ''Hemerocallis ×yeldara'' Traub (hort.)
* ''Hemerocallis ×yeldiana'' Traub (hort.)
* ''[[Hemerocallis yezoensis]]'' Hara

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Arlow Stout]] - pioneer in the hybridization of daylilies
== External links ==
* [http://www.daylilies.org/ The American Hemerocallis Society]
* [[b:How to Grow Daylilies|Wikibooks: How to grow Daylilies]]
* [http://daylily.com The Daylily Exchange] (Links to informational and commercial daylily websites)
* [http://daylily.com/cgi-bin/auction.cgi The Lily Auction]
* [http://www.botanik.de/mendel/image-galleries/blumen/lilien/taglilien Daylilies hybrids]
* [http://Gardentime-uk.com/ GardenTime Hemerocallis] daylilies site with botanical photographs
* [http://www.greenthumbsgalore.com/daylily_guide.html/ Green Thumbs Galore Daylily Guide] Information about buying Daylilies online