Traditionally, Oriental Lilies come in a variety shades from pink to white; though, thanks to breeding, there exists an Oriental Lily known as an OT Hybrid which brings more colors to the Oriental Lily palette.
For now, I'd like to discuss white oriental lilies, and their inextricable link to human history.
Dating back to around 1580 BC, images of lilies can be found on paintings and vases created by the Minoan civilization. The Greeks believed the goddess Hera created lilies accidentally when she also created the Milky Way. According the Romans the goddess of beauty herself, Venus, grew so jealous of the White Lily’s beauty she created the pistil to grow from its center. Throughout different cultures, lilies have also served for treating fevers, burns, and even arthritis. In China the lily's bulb is used in cooking.
The lily is also the most mentioned flower in the Bible, and is present in both the Old and New Testament. Christians hold the lily as a symbol of chastity, innocence, purity and sympathy, and it came to be deeply associated with the Virgin Mary. It is believed her tomb was covered in lilies which may explain the popularity of the lily as a funeral flower.
Lilies are part of human history; they have developed alongside us, and we have brought new variations forth because of our deep love for them. When you smell a white oriental lily, you are smelling the aroma of the ancients from far and wide.