Cardiocrinum

giant lilies
File:Cardiochrinum giganteum 01Hab China Sichuan Danyun Schlucht 16 06 04.jpg
Cardiocrinum giganteum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Subfamily:	Lilioideae
Tribe:	Lilieae
Genus:	Cardiocrinum (Endl.) Lindl.
Synonyms
Lilium unranked Cardiocrinum Endl.

Cardiocrinum is a genus of bulbous plants of the lily family first described as a genus in 1846. They are native to the Himalaya, China, the Russian Far East, and Japan. The bulbs are usually formed at the soil surface. The preferred habitat is woodland. The plants tend to be monocarpic, dying after flowering.

They are closely related to Lilium and are generally called by the common name giant lilies. They differ from Lilium in some characteristics, most notably in the heart shaped leaves (hence the name, from the Greek kardio for heart, and krinum for lily).

The Himalayan species Cardiocrinum giganteum is the largest of any of the lily plants, growing up to 3.5 metres high.

species

1. Cardiocrinum cathayanum (E.H.Wilson) Stearn - E + C China
2. Cardiocrinum cordatum (Thunb.) Makino - Japan, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin
3. Cardiocrinum giganteum (Wall.) Makino - Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim