A tall Martagon lily may hold as many as 50 speckled turban-shaped flowers on its stem. The amount of speckles and the shade of its colour may vary between specimens even on the same stand. The Martagon lily is fragrant at night and attracts sphingids that feed on the nectar of its flowers. The Martagon lily tolerates full sun but apart from most other lilies, it also blossoms in the shade of trees and makes a perfect woodland species. In Mustila, Martagon lilies grow in sunny clearings on the Etelärinne (Southern Slope) and at the northwest edge of Terassi (Terrace) and Alppiruusulaakso (Rhododendron valley).
The Martagon lily’s native range extends from Western Europe to Siberia and Mongolia, and the nearest native regions are found in Estonia. The Martagon lily is an old-fashioned, traditional garden plant that is long-lived and hardy, and when thriving, also germinates from seeds. It may remain as the last sign of cultivation around ruins after other traces of settlement have disappeared.