Lilies have been associated with purity, love, remembrance, rebirth, prosperity, and other symbolic meanings across different cultures and traditions. Their meanings can also vary according to flower color, species, occasion, and historical context.
White lilies have particularly strong associations with purity and Christian religious imagery, while modern floral traditions commonly associate pink lilies with admiration, yellow with happiness, and orange with confidence or enthusiasm.
In this guide, you’ll discover the meanings associated with popular lily colors and types, along with the history, cultural symbolism, and characteristics of several well-known lilies.
Flower Lovers Want to Know
What do lilies symbolize?
Lilies are commonly associated with purity, love, renewal, remembrance, and devotion. However, their meanings vary by flower color, culture, historical tradition, and occasion, so there is no single universal meaning for all lilies.
What do different colors of lilies mean?
White lilies are commonly associated with purity and innocence, pink lilies with love and admiration, yellow lilies with happiness and friendship, orange lilies with confidence and enthusiasm, and red lilies with passion and love. Purple lilies are often associated with royalty, admiration, and dignity.
What do white lilies symbolize?
White lilies traditionally symbolize purity, innocence, and remembrance. They have particularly strong associations with Christian religious imagery and the Virgin Mary and are frequently used for weddings, Easter celebrations, funerals, and sympathy arrangements.
What do pink lilies symbolize?
Pink lilies are commonly associated with admiration, affection, love, and appreciation. Their softer symbolism makes them popular for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, and other occasions celebrating someone special.
What does a Stargazer lily symbolize?
Stargazer lilies are commonly associated with ambition, prosperity, admiration, and achievement in modern flower symbolism. The familiar Stargazer is an Oriental hybrid known for its large, fragrant, upward-facing pink-and-white flowers.
Are all flowers called lilies true lilies?
No. True lilies belong to the genus Lilium. Calla lilies, daylilies, peace lilies, and lily of the valley are commonly called lilies but belong to different plant genera and are not true lilies.
How many types of true lilies are there?
There are more than 100 accepted species in the genus Lilium, along with numerous cultivated varieties and hybrids. Popular garden groups include Asiatic, Oriental, Trumpet, and Martagon lilies.
Different Types of Lilies and Their Meanings
True lilies come in an impressive range of colors, flower forms, and fragrances, from bold Asiatic lilies and fragrant Oriental hybrids to elegant Trumpet and distinctive Martagon lilies. Along with their botanical differences, many lilies have acquired symbolic meanings through cultural traditions, religious imagery, and modern flower symbolism.
Below, we’ll explore popular types of lilies, what makes each distinctive, and the meanings commonly associated with their colors and flowers.
Quick Guide to Lily Types and Meanings
| Lily type | Typical colors | Fragrance | Distinctive feature | Commonly associated meanings |
| Asiatic | Yellow, orange, red, pink, white | Little to none | Early flowering, many colors | Varies by flower color |
| Oriental | Pink, white, red | Strong | Large, showy flowers | Love, admiration |
| Trumpet | White, yellow, pink | Often strong | Trumpet-shaped blooms | Often linked to color |
| Martagon | Pink, purple, orange, white | Varies | Recurved petals | No single established meaning |
| Stargazer | Pink and white | Strong | Upward-facing flowers | Admiration, ambition, prosperity |
| Tiger lily | Orange with dark spots | Light/varies | Recurved, spotted flowers | Confidence, pride, prosperity |
| Easter lily | White | Fragrant | Large trumpet flowers | Purity, hope, resurrection |
Lily Meaning and Symbolism
Lilies have acquired many symbolic meanings throughout history, including purity, innocence, love, remembrance, renewal, and devotion. These associations are not universal, however. The meaning of a lily can change according to its color, culture, religious tradition, historical period, and the occasion in which it is used.
Cultural and Religious Symbolism
Lilies have particularly strong associations with Christian art and tradition. White lilies are commonly used as symbols of purity and are closely associated with the Virgin Mary. They frequently appear in artistic depictions of the Annunciation and other religious scenes.
Lilies also appear in classical mythology. One Greco-Roman tradition connects the lily with Hera, known as Juno in Roman mythology, through a story in which lilies were said to have sprung from drops of the goddess’s milk.
Other cultures have developed their own associations with lilies, but these meanings can vary considerably by region and species. For this reason, broad claims about what lilies symbolize within an entire country or culture should be treated with care.
Historical Symbolism
Over the centuries, lilies have appeared in religious imagery, mythology, literature, decorative arts, gardens, and ceremonial flower arrangements. Their graceful form and often-white flowers helped establish enduring associations with purity and beauty, while their use in funerals and memorial arrangements has also connected them with remembrance and mourning.
These meanings are best understood as cultural and floral traditions rather than fixed definitions. A lily given at a wedding, for example, may communicate something quite different from the same flower used in a sympathy arrangement.
Color Meanings in Lilies
Lily colors can add another layer of meaning to bouquets, gifts, weddings, memorial arrangements, and other occasions.
Note: Lily symbolism varies among cultures, historical periods, religious traditions, and modern floristry. The meanings below reflect common symbolic associations rather than universal definitions.
- White Lilies — Commonly associated with purity, innocence, remembrance, and sympathy. Their traditional connection with purity also makes white lilies popular for weddings and Christian religious occasions.
- Pink Lilies — Often associated with love, admiration, affection, and appreciation. They can be a thoughtful choice for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, and other celebrations.
- Red Lilies — Commonly associated with love, passion, and desire. Their bold color makes them particularly suited to romantic arrangements and occasions.
- Yellow Lilies — Often symbolize happiness, joy, and friendship. Their cheerful color makes them a popular choice for celebrations, thank-you gifts, and arrangements intended to convey warmth and positivity.
- Orange Lilies — Commonly associated with confidence, pride, enthusiasm, and energy. Their vivid color can make them especially appropriate for celebrations and congratulatory arrangements.
- Purple Lilies — Often associated with royalty, dignity, admiration, and respect. Their rich coloring can give floral arrangements a sense of elegance and distinction.
Are All “Lilies” True Lilies?
Not every flower with “lily” in its common name is a true lily. True lilies belong to the genus Lilium, which includes familiar groups such as Asiatic, Oriental, Trumpet, and Martagon lilies, as well as species such as the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) and tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium).
Several well-known plants called lilies actually belong to other botanical genera and are not true lilies:
- Calla lilies belong to the genus Zantedeschia and are not true lilies.
- Daylilies belong to the genus Hemerocallis and are not true lilies.
- Peace lilies belong to the genus Spathiphyllum and are not true lilies.
- Lily of the valley is Convallaria majalis and is not a true lily.
- Water lilies belong to the family Nymphaeaceae and are not true lilies.
This distinction is useful when exploring lily meanings because plants sharing the word “lily” may have very different histories and symbolic associations. In this guide, the main lily types refer to true lilies in the genus Lilium unless otherwise noted.
Popular Types of Lilies and Their Meanings
Lilies include numerous species, hybrids, and cultivars with striking differences in flower shape, color, fragrance, and growth habit. Their symbolic meanings are less precise: associations can vary by culture, historical period, flower color, and occasion.
Here are some of the most popular types of true lilies and the meanings commonly associated with them.
Asiatic Lilies
Asiatic lilies are among the most colorful and widely grown garden lilies. Their upward- or outward-facing flowers appear in shades of white, yellow, orange, pink, and red, as well as multicolored combinations. Unlike many Oriental and Trumpet lilies, most Asiatic hybrids have little or no noticeable fragrance.
Because they occur in so many colors, Asiatic lilies do not have one universal symbolic meaning. Their meaning is often associated with flower color: yellow blooms may suggest happiness and friendship, orange confidence and enthusiasm, and pink affection or admiration.
Common meanings: Happiness, confidence, affection, and friendship, depending on color.
Oriental Lilies
Oriental lilies are known for their large, dramatic flowers and powerful fragrance. Their blooms are commonly white, pink, crimson, or combinations of these colors, often with contrasting spots, stripes, or edges. They generally flower later than Asiatic lilies.
In modern flower symbolism, Oriental lilies are frequently associated with love, admiration, beauty, and elegance. White Oriental lilies can also carry meanings of purity, remembrance, and sympathy, making them popular in both celebratory and memorial arrangements.
Common meanings: Love, admiration, beauty, purity, and remembrance.
Trumpet Lilies
Trumpet lilies are named for their elongated, trumpet-shaped flowers, which may face outward or slightly downward. Their blooms are often white, cream, yellow, or pink and can be strongly fragrant. Many varieties grow tall, making them dramatic additions to garden borders.
Their graceful shape and often white or pale flowers have led to associations with elegance, purity, and dignity. As with other lilies, however, the meaning can change according to flower color and occasion.
Common meanings: Elegance, purity, dignity, and admiration.
Martagon Lilies
Martagon lilies are easily recognized by their smaller, downward-facing flowers with strongly recurved petals. Sometimes described as having a Turk’s-cap shape, the flowers may be pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, or white and often feature dark spots.
There is no single established symbolic meaning exclusive to Martagon lilies. In modern floral interpretations, their graceful appearance and distinctive form may be associated with elegance, individuality, and resilience, although these meanings are more interpretive than historical.
Common meanings: Elegance and individuality in modern flower symbolism.
Stargazer Lilies
The Stargazer lily is a famous Oriental hybrid known for its large, upward-facing flowers, strong fragrance, and striking pink-and-white coloring. Its dramatic appearance has made it especially popular in bouquets and floral arrangements.
Stargazer lilies are commonly associated in modern flower symbolism with admiration, ambition, prosperity, and achievement. Their vivid pink coloring can also convey affection and appreciation.
Common meanings: Admiration, ambition, prosperity, and achievement.
Tiger Lilies
Tiger lilies are best known for their vivid orange flowers covered with dark spots and their strongly recurved petals. The name is most closely associated with Lilium lancifolium, a true lily native to parts of eastern Asia and widely grown elsewhere as an ornamental.
Modern flower symbolism commonly associates tiger lilies with confidence, pride, prosperity, and positive energy. Because symbolic interpretations vary considerably among sources and cultures, these meanings are best understood as traditional or modern associations rather than fixed definitions.
Common meanings: Confidence, pride, prosperity, and positive energy.
Easter Lilies
The Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) produces large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers with a sweet fragrance. Although the species originated in East Asia, it has become closely associated with Easter celebrations, particularly within Christian traditions.
Its white flowers have strong associations with purity, innocence, hope, and renewal. In Christian symbolism, white lilies are also associated with resurrection and the Virgin Mary, making the Easter lily one of the most symbolically significant true lilies.
Common meanings: Purity, innocence, hope, renewal, and resurrection.
Lilies in Art, Religion, and Special Occasions
The symbolism of lilies extends beyond flower bouquets. Lilies have appeared in religious art, ceremonies, weddings, and memorial traditions for centuries, where their meanings often reflect ideas of purity, remembrance, love, and renewal.
Lilies in Art and Religion
White lilies have a particularly strong place in Christian art. They frequently appear in depictions of the Annunciation, where the flower is traditionally associated with the purity of the Virgin Mary. This connection helped establish the white lily as an enduring symbol of purity and innocence in Western religious imagery.
Lilies also appear in some of the world’s best-known floral art, although not every flower called a “lily” is a true lily. Claude Monet’s famous Water Lilies paintings, for example, depict water lilies from the genus Nymphaea, rather than true lilies from the genus Lilium.
Lilies at Weddings
Lilies are frequently incorporated into bridal bouquets, centerpieces, and other wedding arrangements. White lilies are traditionally associated with purity, while pink lilies can suggest admiration and affection. Couples may also choose lilies simply for their color, fragrance, or appearance rather than for a particular symbolic meaning.
Lilies for Sympathy and Remembrance
White lilies are also commonly used in funeral and sympathy arrangements, where they may convey remembrance, peace, purity, and hope. Their meaning can vary according to religious and cultural traditions, as well as the personal significance of the flowers to the recipient.
Lilies at Easter
The white Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) has become strongly associated with Easter in Christian traditions. Its white trumpet-shaped flowers are commonly used to represent purity, hope, renewal, and the resurrection of Christ, and the plants are frequently displayed in churches and homes during the Easter season.
Final Sprouts of Wisdom
Lilies have carried symbolic meanings for centuries, with associations ranging from purity and remembrance to love, admiration, happiness, and renewal. These meanings can vary according to the lily’s color, type, cultural tradition, and the occasion in which the flower is given or displayed.
Whether you prefer the bold colors of Asiatic lilies, the fragrance of Oriental lilies, the distinctive blooms of Martagons, or the classic white flowers of the Easter lily, each offers its own beauty and character. Understanding the traditions behind lily symbolism can add an extra layer of meaning when choosing these flowers for a garden, bouquet, celebration, or remembrance.
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