Mother of Gardens
REGAL LILY
Lilium regale
In grand botanical garden beds and countless humbler household
plots, regal lilies reign supreme. While ubiquitous today, the regal
lily's only natural habitat is a 30-mile stretch of rocky cliffs in
a narrow valley in the Hengduan Mountains. It is Wilson's most
famous introduction, both for its beauty and for nearly costing him
his life. In 1910 a landslide devastated Wilson's party as they were
collecting hundreds of lily bulbs. A falling rock shattered Wilson's
leg and left him with what he later nicknamed his "lily limp."