In 1809 Jefferson wrote to Judge William Fleming, a lifelong friend in Richmond, and and thanked him for sending the foliage of the "Alleghany Martagon . . . A plant of so much beauty & fragrance will be a valuable addition to our flower gardens. Should you find your roots of it I shall be very thankful to participate of them, & and will carefully return you a new stock should my part succeed & yours fail." Jefferson also ordered this tall and stately native lily with its reddish-orange flowers from Bernard McMahon in 1812.

Adapted from Thomas Jefferson's Flower Garden at Monticello by Edwin M. Betts and Hazlehurst Bolton Perkins; revised and enlarged by Peter J. Hatch.

Typical Blooming Dates: July-August
Blossom Color(s): Yellow-Orange to Orange-Red
Location at Monticello: East and West Lawn Oval Beds

Visit Monticello’s Online Shop to check for seeds or plants of Turk's Cap Lily.