Lilium bosniacum

"Golden lily" redirects here. For other uses, see Golden lily (disambiguation).

Lilium bosniacum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Subfamily:	Lilioideae
Tribe:	Lilieae
Genus:	Lilium
Species:	L. bosniacum
Binomial name
Lilium bosniacum (Beck) Fritsch

Lilium bosniacum is a lily native to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also known as zlatni ljiljan (Bosnian for golden lily) and Bosanski ljiljan (Bosnian lily).

L. bosniacum has often been lumped and split and lumped again. Some results of molecular studies ^[1] support it as an infraspecific taxon of Lilium carniolicum. Lilium bosniacum, together with Lilium albanicum and Lilium jankae have been treated as varieties of Lilium carniolicum .

However, extensive DNA-analyses ^{[2] [3]} have shown that this group is polyphyletic.

Description

Lilium bosniacum Beck ex Fritsch 1909 Section 3b Syn.: L. carniolicum var. bosniacumno

Bulb: ovoid, 6–7 cm in diameter, yellowish.

Stem: 30–90 cm.

Leaves: densely scattered, horizontal with tips curved upwards, narrowly lanceolate with slightly hairy margins.

Flowers: 1–6 in a raceme, nodding, fragrant. Tepals strongly revolute, typical Turk's cap-shape, wax-like texture, yellow to orange without spots, ~6 cm in diameter. Seeds with delayed hypogeal germination. Flowering time ~July. 2n=24.

Origin: Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Symbolic use

Bosnian king Tvrtko I's gold coin (14th century) reverse – with the Bosnian state fleur-de-lis coat of arms. (GLORIA TIBI DEUS SPES NOSTRA)

Main article: Bosnian lily

The fleurs-de-lis was the symbol of the House of Kotromanić, a ruling house in medieval Bosnia during the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, adopted by the first Bosnian king, Tvrtko I, in recognition of his ancestral lineage of Kingdom of Serbia Nemanjić dynasty ^[4] and the Capetian House of Anjou support in assuming the throne of Bosnia. The coat of arms contained six fleurs-de-lis, ^[5] where the flower itself is today often considered to be a representation of the autochthonous golden lily, Lilium bosniacum. ^[6]

The emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was part of the flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998. ^{[6] [5]} The state insignia were changed in 1999. The former flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a fleur-de-lis alongside the Croatian chequy. Fleurs also appear in the flags and arms of many cantons, municipalities, cities and towns. Today, it is a traditional symbol of the Bosniak people. ^{[7] [8]} It is still used as official insignia of the Bosniak Regiment of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ^[9]

Fleurs-de-lis today also appear in the flags and arms of many cantons, municipalities, cities and towns of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bosnia (1377–1463)

Coat of arms of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

See also

• Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• List of Balkan endemic plants

References

1. I. Resetnik, Z. Liber, Z. Satovic, P. Cigic, T. Nikolic: Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the Lilium carniolicum group (Liliaceae) based on nuclear ITS sequences, in: Plant Systematics and Evolution, 265: 45–58 (2007)
2. Nursel Ikinci, Christoph Oberprieler, Adil Güner: On the origin of European lilies: phylogenetic analysis of Lilium section Liriotypus (Liliaceae) using sequences of the nuclear ribosomal transcribed spacers, In: Willdenowia 36, 2006, pp. 647–656.
3. Muratović, E., Bogunić, F., Soljan, D., & Siljak-Yakovlev, S. 2005: Does Lilium bosniacum merit species rank? A classical and molecular-cytogenetic analysis. Pl. Syst. Evolution 252: 97–109.
4. Filipović, Emir O. (28 January 2019), "'Creatio Regni' in the Great Seal of Bosnian King Tvrtko Kotromanić", A Companion to Seals in the Middle Ages, Brill, pp. 264–276, ISBN   978-90-04-39144-4 , retrieved 27 August 2025
5. "Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992–1998". Flagspot.net. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
6. B. H. (4 May 2024). "Šest ljiljana vezenih u zlatu: Koja je simbolika prve zastave Bosne i Hercegovine". www.klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
7. Resić, Senimir (2010). En historia om Balkan – Jugoslaviens uppgång och fall (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska Media. p. 294. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
8. "SFOR – Bosnia and Herzegovina in ten flags". www.nato.int.
9. "Zakon o Zastavi Bosne i Hercegovine" (PDF). Ministry of Justice (in Bosnian). Bosnia and Herzegovina. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2022.