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"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.   And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)

Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake
- Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva) -
(click on the photos to enlarge)

The day-lily, so called because each of its flowers blooms only for a single day, sends forth its leaves in early spring and its stalk and buds (pictured here) during the month of May.

The buds of the day-lily develop at different times so that this wild flower will have many blooms over a period of several weeks.

By now some of you may be wondering why we included these three day-lily bud pictures.  The reason is a combination of the ethereal quality of the pictures and the look (appearance) of the buds.  The bottom bud looks almost as though it has a face and mouth that is reaching out to us to have it's chin stroked.  To us, there is always something of beauty and interest before our eyes in God's wondrous creation.   We just need to take the time to see it.

Day-lilies propagate from bulbous roots (tubers) and form dense patches, and according to the literature, they bloom from June to August.  The ones in our area of the country rarely bloom past early July. Day-lilies have long flat leaves that grow only from the base, which can be seen in the lower left of the photo.

In this enlarged section of the previous photo, we can see the day-lily's developing buds, blooming flowers, as well as the shriveled flowers of a previous day.   The scientific name of the day-lily is Hemerocallis, a Greek name which means "a day" (hemera) "beauty" (callos), and it is a beauty.

As we gaze upon the uncommon beauty of the common day-lily, we can well understand why Jesus used the lily in one of His examples of why we should trust in God.  He said (Matthew 6:28-30 NASV):

"And why are you anxious about clothing?  Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.  But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?"

There is also an inner beauty to the day-lily.  Note the way the six stamens and one pistil come forth from the yellow bowl of the flower.  The open end of the pistil is called the stigma, which is designed to receive the pollen grains of another day-lily, carried to it by an insect, so that the pollen can fertilize the ovules (seeds).  The pollen grains can be seen on the anthers atop the six stamens (we are looking at the back side of the anthers).

In the Bible, the prophet Hosea also used the lily as an example of God's grace.  He spoke forth for the Lord and said (Hosea 14:4-5 NASV):

I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the lily,
And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

In this close-up view of the six day-lily anthers atop their respective stamens, we can get a better look at the pollen grains.

Another distinguishing feature of the day-lily is the wavy margin (edge) of the petals.  It is interesting to note that the sepals, which are the same color as the petals, have very little of the wavy margin that is evident in the petals.  The sepals are between and below each of the three petals.  Also note how far away the pistil extends to the right from the six stamens, which we believe is to help prevent self-pollination.

In this picture, we have a closer view of the wavy margin differences between the sepal (left) and the petals above and below it.  We also have another close-up view of the pollen grains on the anthers.

One of the interesting and "artistic" aspects of macro photography is the way the background fades out into out-of-focus "near-background" objects, as is the other day-lily, and a blending of unidentifiable color patches for the more distant background.  To us it says, "All the problems of this world can be left behind during the time we spend in the sanctuaries of God's beautiful creations."  Let us work together to preserve the whole of creation (humans, non-humans, and the environment) in the beauty and goodness of God's original intent.

This photo presents us with a close-up look at the pistil and stigma as it extends out over one of the petals. 

There is something about this series that reminds us that everything in God's creation seems to work together to try to heal the corruption brought upon it.   We can have a kinder, gentler, and more compassionate world, where no one will hurt and destroy, if we truly want it: a world upon which we can look with God and say together, "It is very good!", just as the Lord did when looking back upon the original creation (Genesis 1:31).

| Wild Flowers of SHL | Art and Photos |

If  you would like to contribute a photo and/or comment to these series, please contact;
Frank L. Hoffman flh@all-creatures.org

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