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IN PHOTOS: Unique Daylily Names

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The Missouri Botanical Garden has hundreds of daylilies in its collection, that visitors can enjoy in the Jenkins Daylily Garden. Along with their vibrant blooms, these plants also bring joy and delight to those who stop and explore the the unique daylily names.

Two guests explore the daylily garden. Flowers bloom in a variety of colors.
Guests explore the Jenkins Daylily Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Photo by Claire Cohen/Missouri Botanical Garden.

Daylilies are one of the most popular and easiest to hybridize plants, with over 80,000 registered cultivars of daylilies. Hybridizers are able to name their creations, and often draw inspiration from people, mythology and pop culture.

Below are some of the interesting daylily names found in the Garden during the summer of 2024.

  1. Fantasy-&-Mythology Themed Daylily Names
  2. Space-Themed Daylily Names
  3. Pop-Culture-Themed Daylilies
  4. Other Interesting Daylily Names
Dozens of small black signs are planted in the daylily garden. These signs display the unique names of daylilies that will bloom in the summer.
Signs in the Jenkins Daylily Garden are ready to identify the colorful daylily blooms come summer. Photo by Tom Incrocci/Missouri Botanical Garden.

Fantasy-&-Mythology Themed Daylily Names

From dragons, to elves, to Greek gods – mythology and magic are common inspirations for daylily names.

A vibrant daylily with a petals that are yellow to deep red.
Dragon King Daylily. Dragons can be found often in the daylily names, especially those with a fiery color palette. Photo by Nathan Kwarta / Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with thinner petals, the color transitions from yellow to deep purple.
Indigo Dragon Daylily. Photo by Nathan Kwarta/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A pink daylily.
Dragon’s Eye Daylily. Photo by Nathan Kwarta/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with pink fringed petals.
Spacecoast Dragon Prince (J. Kinnebrew 2007) Daylily. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A bright yellow daylily with an inner orange ring.
Apollo’s Fire Daylily. Greek mythology is generally pretty common in botanical names, with daylily cultivars being no exception. Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with fringed petals. The petals are pink with a yellow fringe.
Peacock Maiden (Carpenter K. 1982) Daylily. The Peacock Princess or Peacock Maiden is a popular story featured in many cultural folklores, usually involving a mythological princess who appears as or is turned into a peacock. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A bright yellow daylily with thinner petals.
Tidewater Elf Daylily (S. Holmes 2012). Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with very light (almost white) pink petals. There is an inner ring of yellow, followed be a ring of purple from the center.
Mystical Rainbow Daylily (Stamile 1996). Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.

Space-Themed Daylily Names

Maybe its their otherworldly feel, but there are several daylily names related to space and aliens.

A daylily with deep purple petals.
Mars Attacks Daylily (P. Owens 2008). Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A orange daylily.
Mission Moonlight Daylily. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with thing petals. The petals are deep purple.
Aliens in the Garden (Gossard 2011) Daylily. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A light yellow, almost greenish fringed daylily.
Solar Song (O. Whatley 1993) Daylily. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.

Pop-Culture-Themed Daylilies

Daylily names can be inspired by pop culture icons and references, including actors and actress, movies and comic books.

A slightly fringed daylily. The petals are mainly white but have a purple tip and purple inner circle.
Julie Newmar Daylily (Morse 2000). Julie Newmar is an actress perhaps best well known for playing Catwoman in the 1960s television series “Batman.” Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with bright purple petals.
Mars Attacks Daylily (P. Owens 2008). “Mars Attacks” is a sci-fi comedy movies from the 1990s. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A daylily with more rounded orange petals.
Smuggler’s Song Daylily (Branch 1991). Smuggler’s Song is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Photo by Claire Cohen/Missouri Botanical Garden.
A deep purple, fringed daylily.
Topgun’s Fireball (B. 1999) Daylily (Morse 2000). Top Gun is a popular 1980s action drama staring Tom Cruise. Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden.
A fringed daylily, with mainly white petals and lines of purple throughout,
Born to Be Wild Daylily (Pierce 2011). Born to Be Wild is a popular song by the band Steppenwolf. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A light yellow daylily with a inner purple ring.
Trading Places Daylily. “Trading Places” is a 1980s comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A deep purple/ almost reddish daylily with a yellow inner ring.
Darth Ciduous (P. 2017) Daylily. Darth Sidious is another name for Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars seires. Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden.
A fringed light coral daylily.
Web of Intrigue Daylily (Stamile 1999). Black Widow: Web of Intrigue #1 is Marvel comic released in 1999. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.

Other Interesting Daylily Names

There are thousands of daylilies that have come through the Missouri Botanical Garden, with new interesting names popping up each summer.

A fringed pink daylily.
Tropical Disturbance Daylily. Photo by Mary Lou Olsen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A somewhat striped daylily.
Yankee Pinstripe (Howard R . 2013) Daylily. Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A deep purple daylily.
Nordic Night Daylily (Salter 1991) Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A fringed coral colored daylily.
Elevator Shoes Daylily (P. Owen 2006). Photo by Claire Cohen/Missouri Botanical Garden.
A bright orange daylily.
Supreme Scream (Ripley 2009). Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.
A purple and white spotted daylily.
Magical Mystery Show (Stamile 2007) Photo by Claire Cohen/ Missouri Botanical Garden.

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