Lilies are flowering plants typically found in the Northern Hemisphere. You can identify these perennial plants by their leafy stems, narrow leaves, scaly bulbs, and flowers. Their flowers form a trumpet-like shape; they are narrow near the stem and wider at the ends of the petals.
Around 1000 BCE, people in Asia Minor grew lilies to use as medicine. Lilies have also been grown for food and as decorations. The Madonna lily is famous as a symbol of purity that often accompanies the Virgin Mary in artwork (source).