ERABU LILY / Erabu Yuri

Erabu Yuri (Erabu Lily) is bred from wild Easter lilies ⁽¹⁾ that grew in areas including Okino-erabujima Island of Kagoshima Prefecture.
　Erabu Lily features pure white flowers with faint fragrance, as well as round-shaped leaves. It is considered perfect for ceremonial occasions, and as an essential flower for New Year and when visiting family graves during the spring equinoctial week, and it accounts for 80% of all domestically produced Easter lilies shipped during the December-April season.

For the production of Erabu Lily, varieties are selected by Erabu Lily Brand Promotion Association from among Easter lily cultivars recommended by Kagoshima Prefecture, while considering attributes such as adaptability to the producing areas.
　Flower bulbs produced in Okino-erabujima Island are cultivated in accordance with the cultivation standards prescribed by the Erabu Lily Brand Promotion Association.
　Flowers damaged by insects and diseases, those with weak stems, and those whose buds are opening are not shipped.

Okino-erabujima Island is an elevated coral reef island. The island's year-round warm climate with the annual average temperature at 22°C serves as a suitable environment for cultivation of Erabu Lily, whose suitable growth temperature is 15-25°C.
　The cultivation of lilies on the island reportedly began in 1899, when wild lilies found in mountains and fields were transplanted to a farm field by the seaside, prompted by advice from an Englishman who had found the wild lilies growing on the island.
　In 1902, lily production and trade began in full scale, and eventually, Okino-erabujima Island became a major flower bulb producer.
　In 1980, an agricultural cooperative was established. In 1981, Easter lily cut flowers produced entirely on the island, from bulb to flowers, began to be shipped as Erabu Lily.
　In 2012, Erabu Lily Brand Promotion Association was established. In 2016, Okino-erabu Airport was nicknamed Erabu Yuri no Shima Airport, meaning Airport of Erabu Lily Island, as part of concerted efforts to promote Erabu Lily with the whole island.
　As of 2018, the total number of producers is 74, the cultivation area is 110 ha, and the annual shipment volume is 2,700 thousand flowers.

1. Easter lily: A perennial herbaceous bulb plant of the genus Lilium in the family Liliaceae in the order Liliales, it bears trumpet-shaped, outward facing flowers. While heavily scented voluminous lilies that develop multiple flowers on a stem are popular in Europe, lilies with two to four flowers on a stem are favored in Japan.