The toad lilies are not as flashy as some other plants that have the common name lily, but are valuable for blooming when the mass of summer colour has passed, and have pretty flowers, well worthy of inspection. They make a clump of upright stems, with a succession of funnel-shaped flowers in subtle colours, often mottled or spotted.

Tricyrtis 'White Towers' comes from Japan. Its interesting flowers start off funnel-shaped but the tepals then spread open and finally curve right back to reveal the stigmas. It has star-shaped white flowers and fresh green leaves.