Erythronium


Erythronium, the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek "red" in Greek, referring to the red flowers of E. dens-canis.

Species

Erythronium includes about 20–30 species of hardy spring-flowering perennial plants with long, tooth-like bulbs. Slender stems carry pendent flowers with recurved tepals in shades of cream, yellow, pink and mauve. Species are native to forests and meadows in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
SpeciesCommon nameDistribution
Erythronium albidum Nutt.small white fawn-lily, white fawn-lily, white trout-lilyOntario, east-central United States
Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl.trout-lily, yellow trout-lily, yellow adder's-tongue, yellow dogtooth violetEastern Canada, Eastern United States
Erythronium californicum PurdyCalifornia fawn-lilyNorthern California
Erythronium caucasicum WoronowCaucasian dog's tooth violetCaucasus, Iran
Erythronium citrinum S. Wats.cream fawn-lilyOregon, Northern California
Erythronium dens-canis L.dog's-tooth violetSouthern, Central Europe from Portugal to Ukraine
Erythronium elegans Hammond & ChambersCoast Range fawn-lilyOregon
Erythronium grandiflorum Purshdogtooth lily, glacier lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lilywestern Canada, western United States
Erythronium helenae ApplegatePacific fawn-lilyCalifornia
Erythronium hendersonii S. Wats.Henderson's fawn-lilyOregon, Northern California
Erythronium howellii S. Wats.Howell's fawn-lilyOregon, Northern California
Erythronium idahoense H.St.John & G.N.Jones -Idaho fawn-lilyMontana, Idaho, Washington state
Erythronium japonicum Decne.katakuriJapan, Korea, Russia, China
Erythronium klamathense ApplegateKlamath fawn-lilyOregon, Northern California
Erythronium krylovii StepanovTuvan trout-lilyRussia
Erythronium mesochoreum Knerrmidland fawn-lily, white fawn-lilyCentral United States
Erythronium montanum S. Wats.avalanche lily, white avalanche-lilyBC, Washington state, Oregon
Erythronium multiscapideum A. Nels. & KennedySierra fawn-lilyCalifornia
Erythronium oregonum Applegategiant white fawn-lilyBC, Washington, California, Oregon
Erythronium pluriflorum Shevock, Bartel & Allenmanyflower fawn-lilyMadera Co in California
Erythronium propullans Graydwarf trout-lilyMinnesota
Erythronium purpurascens S. Wats.purple fawn-lilyCalifornia
Erythronium pusaterii Shevock, Bartel & AllenKaweah Lakes fawn-lilyTulare Co in California
Erythronium quinaultense G A AllenOlympic fawn-lilyOlympic Peninsula in Washington state
Erythronium revolutum Sm.mahogany fawn-lilyBC, Washington state, Oregon, California
Erythronium rostratum W. Wolfyellow trout-lilysouth-central United States
Erythronium sajanense Stepanov & StassovaKrasnoyarsk in Russia
Erythronium sibiricum KrylovSiberian fawn-lilySiberia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia
Erythronium sulevii StepanovAltay Krai in Russia
Erythronium taylorii Shevock & G A AllenTaylor's fawn-lilyTuolumne Co California
Erythronium tuolumnense ApplegateTuolumne fawn-lilyTuolumne Co in California
Erythronium umbilicatum Parks & Hardindimpled trout-lilysoutheastern United States

Formerly included

Two species names were coined using the name Erythronium but have since been reclassified to other taxa.
Erythroniums are widely grown as ornamental plants, with numerous hybrids and cultivars having been selected for garden use. Popular cultivars include Erythronium 'Pagoda', E. 'Sundisc', E. 'Joanna', E. 'Kondo', E. 'Citronella', E. californicum 'White Beauty', and E. 'Rosalind'. Propagation is best by seed in autumn or by division of bulbs, depending on species. Some species propagate vegetatively. The plant is also great as a ground cover, as it will spread over several years.
The following cultivars, of mixed ancestry, have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
The bulb is edible as a root vegetable, cooked or dried, and can be ground into flour. The leaves can also be cooked as a leaf vegetable. In Japan, Erythronium japonicum is called katakuri, and the bulb is processed to produce starch, which is used for food and other purposes.