The genomes of Lilium species are very large, containing 30-40 million kilobase pairs of DNA. An abundant fragment of 3.5 kb was released by BamHI digestion of genomic DNA of Lilium speciosum. Analysis of 20 genomic clones containing sequences homologous to the fragment showed it to be part of a 4.45 kb dispersed repeat, which was named del2. Sequence analysis of one full element and regions of four others revealed del2 to be a non-LTR (long terminal repeat) retrotransposon. It is flanked by short direct repeats of from 4 to 13 bp and a run of adenines occurs at one end (the proposed 3' end), 63 bp downstream from a polyadenylation signal. A possible RNA polymerase II promoter similar to that found in Drosophila I and F group elements is present internally 30 bp downstream from the 5' end. Two degenerate open reading frames (ORFs) are present, the 5' ORF containing a gag-related cysteine motif, and the 3' ORF containing a different cysteine motif also found in most non-LTR retrotransposons. The 3' ORF also has regions with homology to reverse transcriptase sequences, which are most similar to those in Cin4 of maize, the L1 LINE elements of humans and mice and the R2 ribosomal DNA inserts of insects. The majority of del2 elements occur as the full 4.45 kb element. They account for an estimated 4% of the L. speciosum genome and are present in approximately 250,000 copies. del2-related sequences were also detected in 12 other monocot species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)