The lily, or hsuan tsao in Chinese, has a fine and straight axis and leaves low on the stem. When the clear breezes blow, this brilliantly colored golden flower then emerges, giving those who gaze upon it a look of contentment.

Three thousand years ago, a young bride whose husband had gone abroad on conquest was full of grief and sighed, "Where might I find some lilies to dispel my worries?" The flower is also described in The Book of Odes as the "Worry-me-not" or "Anxiety-curing flower."

The flower's buds are edible, the flavor clean and delicious. According to the ancient classics on medicine, eating the root could dispel worries. The favorite time to eat the lily is before the blossoms open, when it is fine and long like a needle. (Thus it also has the name "Golden Needle" in Chinese.)

It is said that the ancients enjoyed eating the lily. First it was cleaned and boiled and then wrung out and prepared with vinegar, licorice, powdered sugar, sesame oil and ground ginger. It is said that the color remained fresh and unchanged. The wild lily has a faint fragrance, far superior to that of the homegrown variety.

The "Pen-tsao Kang-mu," a great medical text of the Sung Dynasty (960-1276), has a detailed description of the medical properties of the lily: it cures fevers, aids urination, and clears the intestines. Claims of its medicinal value are not without basis. Li Chin-fung, a Professor at the Graduate Institute of Food Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, tells us the content of water in the lily is over ninety percent. It includes calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium as well as Vitamin C: this is one nutritious veggie.

The lily was also purported to increase a woman's chances of having a male baby, should she wear it or consume it. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1662) they were planted all over the palace to enhance the chances of a son being born to the emperor. While these claims have no scientific basis, it is not hard to see that the lily is a truly favored flower in the Chinese mind.

The lily came to Taiwan from the mainland about 300 years ago and was first planted only for local consumption. Raising lilies takes less work than, say, planting rice. They are capable of reproducing quickly. During the growing season it is not necessary to fertilize or spray extensively. And the lily is deep-rooted and durable: once planted it can live for more than ten years without need of transplanting. Considering the current shortage of labor in agriculture, this plant is quite economically suitable.

In recent years the government has encouraged changing over from rice to other plants and has especially encouraged lilies. The lily is adaptable and can grow almost anywhere, but it grows best at 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level. So the main areas for its cultivation in Taiwan are hilly areas in the East and Center. Currently total lily cultivation area is about 1,000 hectares. Main locations include Taimali in Taitung, Yuli in Hwalien, and Meishan in Chiayi.

The picking season begins around August or September. But it is not a casual task. Although the plant is brittle and doesn't take much strength to break off, one must begin work at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning; by the afternoon, the sun has darkened the color and reduced its market value.

Also, the flowers should be picked when the buds are mature but not yet opened. The axis forks at the end, with each side usually having seven to eight buds. They mature one by one, and if you don't get them when they're mature, the next day they bloom into big yellow flowers. So pickers have to be quick of both eye and hand; the work cannot be done with machines.

Some of the lilies are packaged and sent off to market at once as fresh vegetables. Taken home and washed, they can be fried, made into soup, or eaten cold. But because the areas where lilies are grown are not convenient to transportation, it is hard to get them fresh to market; most are processed into dry goods.

Drying is done mostly under the sun. During harvest season, families build bamboo frames; they can stretch, with frames linked, to over ten meters. Sometimes they run out of ground space and go onto roofs, giving the area the appearance of a brilliant golden mountain. Taimali has become especially famous for its lily-drying.

In 1985, Teng Teh-feng, professor at National Pingtung Institute of Agriculture, developed a method of soaking fresh lilies in a chemical solution, then drying them. His method can save a considerable amount of the labor and costs of processing. Further, it is easier to control the level of sulphur dioxide, which can reach unhealthy levels in ordinary dried lilies. However, the resulting color is inferior.

Teng provides a tip for consumers: the ordinarily processed lily is orange-yellow of light brown, and consumers should avoid buying ones that are too reddish orange or have a pungent medicinal odor.

Chen Jung-wu of the Taitung Agricultural Improvement Station says that the ordinary lily should be soaked for thirty or so minutes prior to eating; this should wash away the sulphur dioxide. Still, the safest way is to get them fresh.

Besides being edible and medicinal, the lily's fibers, similar to the fusiform root, wind themselves together underground, gripping and pulling together the dirt. They are thus useful for land and water conservation and are often planted on the borders of fields or gardens.

And its color! The lily bulb is truly uniquely beautiful. Indeed, long before the carnation, the lily was traditionally China's "mother flower," explains Director Hwang Yung-chuan of the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation. Travelers would plant lilies near their mothers' homes before leaving, to help dispel mom's anxieties, and they would be reminded of their mothers each time they spotted a field of lilies.

So next Mother's Day don't forget the lilies. Or you might even plant a few for the day somewhere down the road when you might just need something to take away your own worries.

[Picture Caption]

Under the warm rays of the autumn sun, the glittering golden lily can ease your troubled mind.

Workers in the lily fields busy picking flowers have no time to appreciate the beauty around them.

All dried up? Hardly. This is one way to process dried lilies for market.

Women from the Hsi-chih Farmers' Association package lilies for shipment to market.

The lily not only has its own graceful, luminescent beauty--it carries special meaning as China's traditional "mother's flower." (photo by Wei C.Wang)

Be cool! The refreshing and delicious lily is said to have the effect of "reducing heat," a concept from traditional Chinese medicine.

Workers in the lily fields busy picking flowers have no time to appreciate the beauty around them.

Women from the Hsi-chih Farmers' Association package lilies for shipment to market.

All dried up? Hardly. This is one way to process dried lilies for market.

The lily not only has its own graceful, luminescent beauty--it carries special meaning as China's traditional "mother's flower." （photo by Wei C.Wang）

Be cool! The refreshing and delicious lily is said to have the effect of "reducing heat," a concept from traditional Chinese medicine.