Parts of a Lily – Flower, Stem, Leaves and Bulb Labeled

All 8 parts on the diagram

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Tepals The six parts of the flower, in two rings of three. In a lily the outer and inner rings look alike, so they are called tepals rather than petals and sepals.
Stamens The six male parts. Each is a thin stalk (the filament) with an anther on the end that makes pollen.
Pistil The female part in the middle, made of three joined carpels. The stigma sits on a long style, above the ovary where the seeds form.
Stem The tall stalk carrying the leaves and, at its top, the flowers.
Leaves The narrow leaves growing along the stem.
Bulb Underground, it keeps the plant alive from one year to the next. A lily's bulb has no papery skin.
Scales The fleshy, overlapping scales the bulb is made of.
Roots The roots that grow from the base of the bulb.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) Wikipedia, Lilium, Description, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium : tall perennials with naked (tunicless) scaly underground bulbs, their organs of perennation; basal roots at the base of the bulb; flowers borne at the stem tip with six free tepals, a nectary at the base of each; a superior ovary; a three-celled capsule. (2) Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), Lily, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Lily : the flower of two whorls of three free parts each, six free stamens, and a pistil of three carpels ripening into a three-valved capsule of winged seeds; all have scaly bulbs; leaves and a tall stem. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a lily, drawn as a whole plant from the bulb under the soil to the open flower at the top, which is seen face-on.

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The flower

A lily flower has six tepals in two rings of three, six stamens with pollen-making anthers, and in the middle one pistil made of three joined carpels. The seeds form in its ovary.

The plant

The flowers open at the top of a tall stem with narrow leaves along it. Under the soil the stem grows from a bulb made of fleshy scales, which keeps the plant alive from year to year, with roots growing from the bulb's base.

Lily parts come in threes and sixes: two rings of three tepals, six stamens, and a pistil of three parts.

Questions and answers

Why are they called tepals, not petals?

Because a lily's outer ring, which would be sepals in most flowers, looks just like the inner ring of petals. When the two cannot be told apart, both are called tepals.

How many stamens does a lily have?

Six. Each is a thin filament with an anther on the end that makes pollen.

What is a lily bulb made of?

Fleshy, overlapping scales with no papery outer skin, sitting on a base that grows the roots.