Turk's-cap lily earns its species name, superbum, honestly. Native to cove forests, ravines, swamps, and coastal bogs across eastern and central North America, it rises to eight feet in favorable conditions, its stem lined with whorls of leaves and topped with nodding orange-red blooms heavily spotted in purple. The six tepals recurve so sharply that their tips often touch behind the flower, creating the turbaned silhouette that gave the plant its common name. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and a range of pollinators find it irresistible, which makes it one of the most ecologically generous native lilies available to gardeners.

Though it originates in wet habitats, Turk's-cap performs well in consistently moist average garden soil, and it is considered one of the easiest native lilies to establish. Plant bulbs five to six inches deep and mulch to prevent the soil drying between rains. It suits mass plantings beside ponds or rain gardens, naturalized woodland edges, or any wet meadow setting where its scale won't overwhelm neighboring plants. The usual lily pests apply: aphids, bulb mites, slugs, and deer browsing the foliage while voles target the bulbs below ground.