Description

Lilium polyphyllum, the white Himalayan lily, is a graceful perennial bulbous herb of the family Liliaceae, native to the moist alpine and sub-alpine meadows, rocky slopes, and open forest clearings of the western Himalayas — from Afghanistan through Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand to Nepal — at elevations between 2,700 and 3,600 metres. The plant produces whorls of narrow lanceolate leaves along the stem and drooping, white, reflexed, purple-spotted flowers. Its underground bulb constitutes the classical Ayurvedic Rasayana drug Kshira Kakoli — one of the eight herbs of the Ashtavarga group cited in the Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam for Rasayana and Vajikarana formulations. One of the rarest Ashtavarga herbs, wild populations are severely threatened by overharvesting, and the species is listed as Endangered in India.