New insight into brownii var. colchesteri

Lilium brownii var. colchesteri has been widely cultivated for long time by its perfect flower shape with its colour arrangement and fragrance. However, it did not receive enough attention in recent lily research programs, and information on the history and culture is lacking. An overall research project on this species including breeding, flowering control, propagation, virus-free bulb production, flower pigment and scent along with the surveys of old literature and arts to clarify the introduction history of the species into Europe and Japan, has been conducted. The major results are: 1) L. brownii var. colchesterii was probably introduced in about 1600 from Korea to Fukuoka, 2) there was confusion of the species nomenclature of this species in Europe at the time of introduction, 3) all individuals of our present collection in Japan and Korea are clones, 4) F₁ hybrids of L. formosanum × L. brownii var. colchesteri obtained through cut-style pollination and ovary slice culture methods showed the early flowering traits of L. formosanum, but the flower shape and colour were similar to those of the pollen parent, 5) F₂ seedlings were obtained from self-pollination of F, through ovary-slice culture, 6) control of flowering was successful by temperature treatments, 7) an in vitro propagation procedure was established, 8) virus-free bulblets were obtained by a combination of meristem tip culture and chemotherapy, and 9) pigments that characterize the flower colour were identified.