Its Japanese namesukashi-yuri, literally "see-through lily" or perhaps "openwork lily", originates from the gaps between its tepals. The plant is also called iwato-yuri or iwa yuri referring to its rocky habitat, or hama yuri from growing on the seashore. In the Japanese horticultural trade, cultivated types are referred to as sukashiyuri while the wild-growing ones are called iwatoyuri. Furthermore, plants growing along the Pacific Ocean are called iwatoyuri, distinguished from iwayuri that grow on the coasts of the Sea of Japan.
Range
L. maculatum is native to the central and northern regions of Japan, widely cultivated as an ornamental. The perennial plan grows on sandy seashores, rocky areas, or cliff-tops.
General description
It is a stem rooting lily, its bulbs are ovate and white, lacking bitterness. Parts of the scales on the bulb may be jointed. The stalk grows from tall, and bears a number of orange, red, or yellow flowers with darker spots. Sometimes the yellow lilies exhibit spotlessness In Japan, plants growing on the Pacific coast bloom from the latter half of June until early August, much later than the lilies on the coasts of the Sea of Japan that bloom from the latter half of May to early June. This species used to be considered one of the more important in food consumption as lily bulb or yuri-ne around the turn of the 20th century.
Varieties
;Recognized cultivars
Lilium maculatum var. bukosanense H.Hara
Lilium maculatum var. maculatum
The variety bukosanense was originally discovered on Mount Bukō in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, with scattered populations later found in Ibaraki Prefecture. The variety is unusual, as it is a "hanging" or "weeping" type with a pendulous stem, but is listed as critically endangered by Saitama's Red Data Book. The mountain has been heavily quarried for limestone by the cement industry, which now collaborates in the plant's conservation efforts in captivity; foraging by wildlife such as the Japanese macaque is also thought to jeopardizes its survival. Japanese literature c. 1900 writes of several yellow varieties grown which had no spots, but a warning was written against their export, while only spotted or lightly spotted varieties of these yellow lilies were being shipped to the West. Years later, the spottless yellow lilies were still considered few and elusive. ;Formerly included
Lilium maculatum subsp. dauricum H.Hara, now considered a synonym of Lilium pensylvanicumKerGawl.
Lilium maculatum var. monticola H.Hara, now considered a synonym of Lilium maculatum var. maculatum
