Lilies
Easter lily / Lilium longiflorum / Teppo-yuri / テッポウユリ
This well-known flower was endemic to Japan’s southern islands until it began to be exported overseas during the Meiji era (1868–1912). On Amami-Oshima it grows around 1 meter tall on rocks, grasslands, and near coastal reefs, as well as in residential areas. The plant flowers in late spring to early summer, with horizontal blossoms that are pure white, 10 to 15 centimeters long, and shaped like the bell of a trumpet. The blossoms are used worldwide as cut flowers. References to similar lilies are found in Greek and Roman mythology, as well as in the Christian bible. The Easter lily’s Japanese name, teppo-yuri (“gun lily”), comes from the flower’s resemblance to the muzzle of a blunderbuss, a sixteenth-century firearm with a large, flaring barrel.
Dwarf lilyturf / Ophiopogon jaburan / Noshiran / ノシラン
This member of the lily family is often found in damp, shaded areas along forest roads. It grows in dense tufts of long grassy leaves around 50 centimeters long, with a glossy green surface. The stems and the leaves are flat and droop downward. Sparse, small white flowers appear in the summer, also drooping from their stems. Pale-green fruits appear after the flowers, gradually maturing into a bright blue or purple color in the winter. Dwarf lilyturf is often used as ground cover in Japanese gardens.