The most beautiful lily on the planet has a flaw.
It’s its pollen.
The anthers (male parts) start out harmless.
They surround a single long, green pistil (female part).
As the flower matures, the anther ends turn inside out.
This exposes the pollen which looks like rust dust.
It stains anything it gets on.
Flower shops usually remove the male parts of lilies.
This avoids issues caused by pollen, but changes the look of the flower.
I love Stargazer lilies, but I am not a pollen fan.
Their scent is heavenly, but keep your nose away from those anthers.
Flow
P.S. Stargazers, like other lilies, are poisonous to cats.
floweralley 
This reminded me of something from Eleanor Perenyi’s book, Green Thoughts: a writer in the garden. Speaking of the Auratum hybrid lilies, she says, “All have red-gold anthers that stain the face and hands with saffron–the stigma of the lily fancier.” Sounds quite poetic, doesn’t it, even though that staining is a nuisance. I lost my Stargazers through carelessness some years ago, but I have several plants of Golden Splendor that are now in bloom. Gorgeous perfume!
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I wish I could share the scent on my blog. Thanks Audrey.
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I once rented a house short term. When it cam time to leave the professional cleaners couldn’t get that pollen out of a carpet. I was told that if the house was sold I would not have to replace it. If It was rented, I would. It was sold. Phew.
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Lucky you.
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I am of the anther removal camp, often reaching into barely open buds to extract the stamens before the pollen is released. I do love the scent of lilies, Orientals are my favorite.
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