Lily flowers

Lily is a genus of plants that belong to the Lily family. In general, these are perennial herbs, which are distinguished by the presence of white, pinkish or yellowish bulbs consisting of fleshy grass leaves. However, not only bulbs are highly valued in this plant, and lily flowers are beautiful large buds of various colors and shades.

These gorgeous flowers worthy of the queen are often presented as a sign of love to a friend, bride or wife. It is believed that the white flowers of the lily are a symbol of the first feelings - it is customary to give them to young girls, while lilies of a different shade are presented to older women.

Due to their highly aesthetic qualities and distinctive properties, lilies can also serve as a decorative element in the composition of all kinds of dishes. That is, according to this principle, lily is classified as edible flowers. And in fact, lily flowers are quite suitable for consumption - they are often decorated with salads and cakes. By the way, an excellent option for decor is the candied lily flower.

For example, in eastern cuisine, all parts of the plant are widely used: young leaves are added to vegetable salads, green buds are salted, and rather fleshy roots are consumed raw, boiled or stewed. And lilies even make caviar from blossomed flowers, which tastes very similar to eggplant. White lily petal jam is generally a treat for connoisseurs.

Species of lilies

To date, science knows more than 110 species of lilies, which are distributed throughout most of Europe, but the dominant number still belongs to Asia. But in North America there are no more than 6 species of lilies. In Russia, of all those known, the saranka lily, which is called tsarist curls in gardening, has become the most widespread.

Lily composition

It has been established that the lily contains a considerable amount of biologically active substances - alkaloids. Tannins, saponins, ascorbic acid and flavonoids are present in the aboveground parts of this plant, and protein and mucous substances, vitamins, sugars, boron and iron are present in the bulb.

The benefits of lily

The benefits of the lily from a medical point of view are obvious even despite the fact that its chemical composition has not yet been sufficiently studied. Nevertheless, bulbs and lily flowers (in particular such varieties as white and tiger) are often used as a medicine.

As an external remedy, the benefits of lily are relevant for purulent inflammation and eruptions - for this, the bulb is boiled in milk, and then the decoction is applied to the patient's place. On the basis of lilies flowers, a tincture is also made, which has tonic properties.