Persistent and colonial, these perennials produce lots of long straplike leaves at the base and a long scape with a cluster of flowers at the top. Flower colour ranges from tawny, to orange and yellow or white, resembling the true lilies. Each flower lasts one day; flowering continues through July and August.

Local from Kings and Cumberland counties to eastern Cape Breton

Shoots: early spring when they are only up about 3 inches, slice the tops level with ground and use in stir-fries. Tubers: gathered before flower shoots emerge from October to spring. Wash don't peel. Cook like potatoes. (Clip off a few tubers and return root mass to the soil and cover. Flower buds: gather while green and steam, boil or stir-fry. Also great pickled. Flowers: fresh use in salads; dried great in soups or miso.

Careful not to confuse with irises: the leaves face each other in daylilies, where iris leaves line up edge to edge. Caution: some people find their tummy becomes upset by consuming them. Try a few first. There are many cultivars. Some are not edible. It is the wilded or naturalized H. fulva that one seeks for food. Not the kind just planted from a nursery.