Foremost among the lilies of Japan is the one which bears the name of its native place. _Lilium Japonicum Odorum_ is one of the very finest of the lilies, and in the strength of its perfume it is absolutely without a rival. The true _L. Japonicum_, or, as it is now more generally termed, _L. Japonicum Odorum_ is but little known in England, but an allied species, _L. Brownii_, is well known, and though not grown so frequently as it should be, it is deservedly popular. It has always been a question whether _L. Japonicum_ and _L. Brownii_ are but varieties of the same plant. Certainly there is a great similarity between them, but there are points in which the two plants differ and these differences are very constant. In Dr. Wallace’s little book on lily culture the differences between these two lilies are detailed in tabular form, and for ourselves we are fully convinced that _L. Brownii_ and _L. Japonicum_ are distinct but very nearly allied species. The bulb of _L. Japonicum_ is white or yellowish, but never brown. The scales are narrow and are very loosely connected with the base. The bulb is always rather loose and the scales divergent, but good bulbs have a very firm centre. The bulb of _L. Brownii_ is usually reddish and the scales are broad. The base is very small, and the whole bulb has a curious and very characteristic shape. The shoot of _L. Japonicum_ is greener and blunter than that of _L. Brownii_. The shoot of the latter lily very much resembles thick asparagus. During growth it is easy to distinguish between these two lilies, for the stem of _L. Japonicum_ is green, while that of _L. Brownii_ is brown. There is not very much difference in the flowers of these lilies. _L. Brownii_ often bears three blossoms, and in one case, recorded in _The Garden_, five blossoms upon one stem. Two blossoms are very frequently present on the same stem. We have never known _L. Japonicum_ to bear more than one blossom on each shoot. [Illustration: _Lilium Longiflorum._] The flowers of _L. Japonicum_ are a rich custard yellow while they are opening, but in the fully expanded blossom the colour of the interior is a rich creamy white. The pollen is reddish brown. The exterior of the perianth is thickly streaked with chocolate colour. The scent of this flower is very strong, resembling that of the Jasmine. The flowers of _L. Brownii_ never show the deep yellow colour which is present in the partially opened buds of _L. Japonicum_. The pollen is deep brown and the exterior of the blossoms is more streaked with brown than are those of _L. Japonicum_. We cannot recognise any difference in the smell of these two lilies, but Dr. Wallace contends that the smell of _L. Brownii_ is only moderately strong, like that of _L. Longiflorum_; while other authors have denied to _L. Brownii_ any scent whatever!