Turk’s-Cap Lily

2015
These wild lilies have long been a favorite of mine. Growing up we called them tiger lilies, since the spotted blossoms share a striking similarity with the domestic tiger lilies. But when I began studying wildflowers, I learned that there is a difference—whereas the tiger lily is a robust garden plant imported from Asia, the Turk’s-Cap is a more slender native species found in swamps and wet road ditches. And since creating this drawing, I have learned that the Turk’s-Caps have been separated into two species, of which the species in Minnesota has been redesignated Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense). Nomenclature marches on!