The commonly cultivated Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) is a tetraploid (4n) hybrid. The typical haploid number for the genus Lilium is 12 (n = 12). The tetraploid hybrid has larger blossoms.
The fragrant white Easter lily (Lilium longifolium) is originally from southern Japan and Taiwan. Spectacular tetraploid hybrids of this beautiful lily are grown in greenhouses throughout the world. The white Madonna lily of Europe, depicted in numerous Renaissance paintings of the Annunciation, is Lilium candidum.