How did the tiger lily get its name?

Answer 1

Tiger Lilies are in fact usually hybrids of a cross between the species tigrinum or lancifolium and an asiatic hybrid. A true tiger lily is now considered to be of the species tigrinum. They reproduce prolifically, especially along the stem...ever wondered what those little brown nibs forming along the stem of one of your lilies was? They are called stem bulbils, and if you plant them, in time each one will produce another lily exactly like the one it came from! Plants grown from these bulbils cannot be expected to produce blooms in their first year, but if you happen to get some of the earliest ones and plant them, they just may get a surprise the following year. Some of the bulbils will fall off the parent stem already with their roots started and the first leaf popping up! You can guarantee that any lily which produces stem bulbils has tigrinum/lancifolium in its genes. A good example for us is the orange/red Asiatic, 'Orange Beauty. It, like the 'Tigers' we have in our front yard, produces a huge number of bulbils every year.