Now the secrets of the king-bed lily will be revealed

- We count the king bed lilies to try to understand what it is that controls flowering, says Håkan Hytteborn.

He and his colleague have been authorized by the county administrative board to move in the nature reserve, where otherwise it is not allowed to stay.

The mapping of the flowers takes place in the same boxes of ten by ten meters as counted king bed lilies since the 1930s. Also in the 1980s, lilies were counted and now since 2016.

For Håkan Hytteborn and Håkan Rydin, it is now time to compile the results to see at what stage the weather is recording.

- We can compare the flowering between the years and hopefully understand if it is the weather in March-April that controls the number of flowers or the weather in the previous year when they build up the bulbs, says Håkan Rydin.

The lilies were discovered on Kungsängen as early as the 18th century, by an acquaintance of Linné named Bielke. Since the flower really belongs in Central Europe, it is believed that it came to the meadows at Fyrisån with waste from any garden long ago.

It is now estimated that about a million king-bed lilies grow on Kungsängen, and the flower is a popular motif for Uppsalaborna to photograph.

- It has become a symbol, and it is a little fun because it should not really be here, says Håkan Rydin.

Hear him and his colleague tell us more about the count of king bed lilies in the box above.