States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Turk's-cap Lily

Lilium superbum

Found in cove forests and moist forests, moist ravines, blackwater stream swamps, Coastal Plain bogs. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

Native to West Virginia. 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 10 West 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 3

Moist forests

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

Rich cove forests

Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
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
Also known as

Turk's cap Lily; Turks Cap Lily

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV 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.

Choose a county to begin.

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