The wood lily Lilium philadelphicum is a summertime feature of wild Drummond Island roadsides and ditches. The large orange blossoms are showy and unique. Several North American lily species form large bright vase-shaped blossoms similar to these but only the wood lily blossom opens upward, the others open on down curved stalks. The wood lily is speckled inside the blossom suggesting tiger lily to many, but the tiger lily is a cultivated hybrid, a different plant originating most likely in the Orient.
The wood lily’s single flower stalk grows two to three feet high with tiers of whorled narrow leaves spaced along the stem. This is a unique and appealing wildflower and a great start for anyone interested in learning local wildflowers. Committed foragers harvest the starchy tubers for consumption after proper cooking. Beware, those same tubers can be fatally poison for the family dog and even small children have been reported made very ill by their consumption. I leave this one to ornament roadsides.