Klotzsch
Description
Lilium nanum is a diminutive alpine lily of the Himalaya and adjoining China, recorded from China, Nepal, India, Bhutan and Myanmar, with GBIF documenting some 410 occurrences (outlying records reflecting cultivation). It grows in subalpine and alpine meadows, open Rhododendron and juniper scrub, grassy slopes and stabilised screes, generally between 3000 and 4500 m. The photographed plants were found in Bhutan at Tsochenchen at 3800 m and in West Nepal south of Rara Lake at 3650 m, both in June, when this early-summer flowerer nods amid the freshly greening alpine sward soon after snowmelt.
It is a small bulbous perennial, the bulb ovoid with few lanceolate scales, giving rise to a slender, erect, unbranched stem rarely exceeding a hand-span in height. The leaves are scattered, linear to narrowly lanceolate, sessile and grass-like. The plant bears a solitary (rarely paired), nodding, broadly campanulate flower with six free, recurved-tipped tepals coloured pinkish-purple to deep purple, often tessellated or veined darker within and yellowish at the base. There are six stamens with versatile anthers and a superior, three-locular ovary topped by a slender style; the fruit is an erect, ribbed, loculicidal capsule producing flat, winged, wind-dispersed seeds.
The species belongs to genus Lilium (Liliaceae) and is among the smallest of all true lilies, sometimes treated with var. flavidum, a yellow-flowered variant of the eastern Himalaya. Prized by alpine gardeners, it is challenging in cultivation owing to its high-altitude requirements. While its broad range buffers it against extinction, local populations face pressure from grazing, bulb collection and warming-driven habitat shifts.
Author: Klotzsch · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, The Genus Lilium (Comber/McRae)