Gray's Lily
Lilium grayi
Found in bogs, seepages, grassy balds, moist forests, and wet meadows, at medium to high elevations. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
45
Good
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial, from a bulb
- Bloom
- June to July
- Fruiting season
- August to September
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 4
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 140 animals.
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
.jpg){kind=link}
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lilium
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Acrolepiopsis incertellaCarrionflower Moth
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Hymenia perspectalisSpotted Beet Webworm
- Macronoctua onustaIris Border Moth, Iris Root Borer
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema insulidensRagwort Stem Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Show all 12
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Xanthopastis regnatrixConvict Caterpillar, Spanish Quaker, Spanish Moth
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 claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–5b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Yellow, orange or purple
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- September
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, orange or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–5b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “Up to about 4 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- 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
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Grays Lily; Roan Lily
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G1G2 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications