Lilium candidum

Annunciation Lily, Easter Lily, Madonna Lily, White Lily

Message of the Flower

Purity Arising from Perfect Consecration

The Mother’s Comment

If one lives only for the Divine and by the Divine, the result is perfect purity.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

This is purity, to accept no other influence but only the influence of the Divine.

The Mother, Words of the Mother - II: Purity

One is truly perfectly pure only when the whole being, in all its elements and all its movements, adheres fully, exclusively, to the divine Will. This indeed is total purity. It does not depend on any moral or social law, any mental convention of any kind. It depends exclusively on this: when all the elements and all the movements of the being adhere exclusively and totally to the divine Will.

The Mother, Questions and Answers 1954: 22 December 1954

What I call purity, the true purity, is not all those things morality teaches: it is non-ego.

There must be nothing but Him.

Him, not only because we have given Him everything and consecrated ourselves totally to Him (that is not enough), but Him because He has taken total possession of the human instrument.

The Mother, Mother's Agenda: May 21, 1960

There is a force of purity, not the purity of the moralist, but an essential purity of spirit, in the very substance of the being.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV: Sex

Colour

Pearl white, golden

Family

Liliaceae

Cultivars

Several, including 'Chalcedonian', noted for variations in bloom size and shape.

Person who named the flower

Carl Linnaeus

Flower Size

Typically 6-10 cm in diameter

Flower Texture

Smooth and waxy

Number of Petals

Six

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Strong and sweet

Leaf Texture

Smooth

Leaf Arrangement

Whorled and basal rosette

Leaf Color

Dark green

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Bulbous herb

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Late spring to early summer

Climate

Temperate

Water Requirements

Moderate, prefers well-drained soil

Soil Type

Loamy, well-drained

Temperature Ranges

Hardy to USDA zones 5-9

Sun or Shade

Full sun to partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Susceptible to lily beetle, viral and fungal diseases

Pollinators

Bees, butterflies

Habitat

Native to the Balkans and Middle East, cultivated worldwide

Role in the Ecosystem

Provides nectar for pollinators

Ornamental

Widely cultivated for its striking appearance and fragrance

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Mainly ornamental and symbolic uses

Endangered Status

Not globally endangered but may be locally threatened due to habitat loss