Hemerocallis multiflora

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers, Leaves

Leaves and young shoots are edible cooked but must be harvested when very young before they become fibrous. Flowers and flower buds can be eaten raw or cooked; though relatively small for a daylily, the flowers are crisp and pleasantly sweet with no aftertaste, making a delicious addition to salads. They can also be dried and used as a thickener in soups. Flower buds contain approximately 43mg vitamin C per 100g, 983 IU vitamin A, and 3.1% protein. The roots are edible raw or cooked — tender but fairly bland with a slight sweetness. The roots are slightly fleshy with a swollen, tuberous section near the tip; they are quite small and are best harvested when the plant is already being dug up for divisions or another purpose.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in hill forests and in openings in the forest on hilltops between 700-1000 m altitude in Henan in China.

Asia, China, Japan,

How to Identify

A herb. It loses its leaves during the winter. It grows 1.2 m high. The roots are slightly fleshy. They have a swollen tuber near the tip. The leaves are narrow and 50-70 cm long by 0.7-1 cm wide. There can be many flowers. They are small and have a scent. The flowers open during the day. They are orange or yellow. They are purplish black in bud. The fruit is a capsule. It is oval and 1.5 cm long by 0.8 cm wide.

How to Grow

Succeeds in most soils, including dry ones, preferring a rich moist soil and a sunny position but tolerating partial shade. Plants flower less freely in a shady position though the flowers can last longer in such a position. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Succeeds in short grass if the soil is moist. Prefers a pH between 6 and 7. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. This species is closely related to H. micrantha and H. plicata. Individual flowers are short-lived but the plant produces a succession of blooms. Each scape carries between 75 and 100 blooms. Plants take a year or two to become established after being moved. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. The plants are very susceptible to slug and snail damage, the young growth in spring is especially at risk.

Propagation: Sow seed in mid-spring in a greenhouse; germination is usually fairly rapid and good. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle, overwinter in the greenhouse, and plant out in late spring. Divide plants in spring or after flowering in late summer or autumn — division is quick and easy at almost any time of year. Larger clumps can go straight into permanent positions; smaller clumps are best potted up and grown on in a cold frame until rooting well, then planted out in spring.

Medicinal Uses

The juice of the roots is an effective antidote in cases of arsenic poisoning. A tea made from boiled roots is used as a diuretic.

Other Uses

The tough dried foliage can be plaited into cord and used for making footwear.

Hemerocallis multiflora is a perennial growing to 1m tall and 0.5m wide. Hardy to UK zone 4 and not frost tender. Flowers bloom from July to September. The species is hermaphrodite. It adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils across mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH ranges. The plant grows in semi-shade or full sun and tolerates both dry and moist soils.

Notes

There are about 15 Hemerocallis species. Also put in the family Hemerocallidaceae.

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