Lilium candidum, the
Madonna lily, is a plant in the
true lily family. It is native to
Greece, the western
Balkans and the
Middle East, and naturalized in other parts of
Europe (
France,
Italy,
Ukraine, etc.) as well as in
North Africa, the
Canary Islands,
Mexico, and other places. It forms bulbs at ground level, and unlike other lilies, has a basal
rosette of leaves through the winter, which die back in summer. A leafy flower stem, typically up to high, sometimes up to high, emerges in late spring and bears sweetly and headily fragrant flowers in summer. Flowers are white, flushed yellow at the base.