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Turk's-cap Lily

Lilium superbum

Found in cove forests and moist forests, moist ravines, blackwater stream swamps, Coastal Plain bogs. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

46
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
4–8 feet
Spread
6 inches–1 foot
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial, from a bulb
Bloom
July to August
Fruiting season
September to October

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 20 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
Regional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lilium

  • Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
  • Acrolepiopsis incertellaCarrionflower Moth
  • Geshna cannalisLesser Canna Leafroller Moth
  • Hymenia perspectalisSpotted Beet Webworm
  • Macronoctua onustaIris Border Moth, Iris Root Borer
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Show all 12
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
  • Xanthopastis regnatrixConvict Caterpillar, Spanish Quaker, Spanish Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lilium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Adult butterflies / moths 2
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Argynnis cybele

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Liliaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Yellow, orange or purple
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “July to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Yellow, orange or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Hardiness · “Zones 5a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
  • Height · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
  • Life cycle · “Perennial, from a bulb” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
Also known as

Turk's cap Lily; Turks Cap Lily

Conservation status

Alabama rankS3
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by runners. Spreads by stolons and will naturalize under optimum growing conditions. Tennessee Smart Yards

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources