U.S. #5672
2022 58¢ Mountain Flora: Wood Lily (coil)
Issue Date: March 14, 2022
First Day City: Alpine, WY
Type of Stamp: Definitive
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Coil of 3,000 OR Coil of 10,000
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 12,000,000 OR 30,000,000
The wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum) is a red or orange lily species native to North America. It can be found from British Columbia to Quebec in Canada and in certain areas of the United States. This includes the Northeast, Great Lakes region, and the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains.
The wood lily is also known as the Philadelphia lily, prairie lily, or western red lily. It is an endangered species in some states, including Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee, and North Carolina. It is also threatened in Kentucky and Ohio.
Wood lilies reach heights of one to three feet and each plant features up to five red to orange flowers with purplish spots. They grow from bulbs, which were once an important food and medicine source for some Native Americans.
You can spot wood lilies blooming from July to August, after which the flowers die off and grow into seed pods. When the seeds are released in late summer, they start to grow and become tiny bulbs before winter. The bulbs are then dormant until they bloom the following spring.
It's best not to pick wood lilies, wherever you're lucky enough to see them. This allows them to continue growing, spread their seeds, and grace the area with their beauty for years to come.