(Newswire.net — December 21, 2020) — An old Chinese proverb says, “If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a daylily.” This phrase underlines the importance of the daylily in ancient China as a valuable food, medical and garden plant. Today we will talk about the useful features of the Daylily, and how it has been used in different spheres of life.
Three Spheres Where People Have Used the Daylily
The genus Hemerocallis (daylily) originates from Japan (the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido). During its long history, it has spread to the territory of North-Eastern Siberia, North and South Korea, Mongolia, and China where daylilies have been cultivated for thousands of years. Even though today Hemerocallis daylily can be bought online on https://dutch-bulbs.com/hemerocallis-daylily/ and many other resources, it has made a long way to the other continents and impressed people with its unique features. Here are three spheres of life where it has been used.
1) Medicine
The earliest written mention of the daylily in China dates back to 2697 BC. This is a medical treatise “Materia Medica” by Qi Bai, which describes the use of Hemerocallis not only as a beautiful, decorative flower in the garden but also for medical purposes. Daylily root has a diuretic feature and is recommended for the treatment of urinary incontinence and dysuria. The juice extracted from fresh roots is given to patients suffering from liver cirrhosis and icterus.
2) Construction
Until this day, Hemerocallis leaves are used as a roofing material in the construction of some types of traditional houses in the Chinese province of Yunnan, in Taichung (Taiwan) and on the Lan Yu island. In Tasmania, this plant is listed by the firefighters as a low flammable plant. It proves that a daylily suits for roofing and for growing in the protective zones of the buildings.
3) Literature and Art
The daylily found its place in fine art and folk legends. In the collections of ancient Chinese folk songs, the daylily is referred to as “the flower of oblivion.” This is most likely due to the plant’s hallucinogenic properties. It is very noteworthy that the Hemerocallis symbol in Chinese writing is used for the indication of “mother love.” In 1753, the daylily received its common name Hemerocallis – translated from Greek as Hemera – “day” and Kalos – “beauty”, which literally means “a beautiful day.”
One Plant – Many Names
In 1597, the Englishman John Gerard was the first naturalist to use the name “Daylily” for Chinese “Hsuan Ts’ao” (the name of a Hemerocallis in China). In different languages of the world, daylily sounds like this:
- in Polish – Dziennica;
- in Italian – Belle di Giorno;
- in Czech – Devinka;
- in Spanish – Lirio de Dia;
- in German – Taglilien;
- in French – Lis de un Jour.
The Hemerocallis fragility is encrypted in almost all names. In different countries, it has old folk names, for example, in Spain, it is called Japanese lily or Turkish amaryllis. How is it called in your area? Share with us.