Besides being edible and medicinal, the lily's fibers, similar to the fusiform root, wind themselves together underground, gripping and pulling together the dirt. They are thus useful for land and water conservation and are often planted on the borders of fields or gardens.
金針除了苞可食用、根可入藥外，它類似紡綞形的塊根，會在地下相互盤結糾纏，抓緊泥土，具有水土保持的作用，因此農家常在菜園邊、田埂上種幾行做圍籬，也在無意間點綴了田園景色。