Erythronium albidum
Erythronium grandiflorum
white fawnlily, white trout-lily
dogtooth fawn lily, glacier-lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lily, yellow glacier lily
ovoid, 15–30 mm;
stolons 1–3, mostly on 1-leaved, nonflowering plants; flowering plants reproducing vegetatively by offshoots or droppers.
slender, 30–50 mm.
8–22 cm;
blade green, irregularly mottled, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, ± flat, glaucous, margins entire.
5–20 cm;
blade green, lanceolate, ± glaucous, base gradually narrowed to petiole, margins ± wavy.
7–20 cm.
5–30 cm.
1-flowered.
usually 1-flowered, sometimes up to 5-flowered.
tepals strongly reflexed at anthesis, white, tinged pink, blue, or lavender abaxially, with yellow adaxial spot at base, lanceolate, 22–40 mm, auricles absent;
stamens 10–20 mm;
filaments yellow, lanceolate;
anthers yellow;
pollen yellow;
style white, 15–25 mm;
stigma lobes recurving, 1.5 mm.
tepals recurved, bright yellow with (in live specimens) narrow paler zone at base, or white to creamy white with yellow base, narrowly ovate, 20–35 mm, length at least 4 times width, inner usually auriculate at base;
stamens 11–18 mm;
filaments white, ± slender, linear, less than 0.8 mm wide;
anthers cream, yellow, red, or purplish red;
pollen yellow or red;
style white, 10–15 mm;
stigma unlobed or with slender, recurved lobes (1–)2–4 mm.
held erect at maturity, obovoid, 10–22 mm, apex rounded to faintly apiculate or umbilicate.
oblong to narrowly obovoid, 2–5 cm.
= 44.
= 24.
Erythronium albidum
Erythronium grandiflorum
Erythronium albidum often forms extensive colonies in which nonflowering, 1-leaved plants far outnumber flowering, 2-leaved ones. It is very widespread in eastern North America, more common in the central states than E. americanum and often occurs in slightly drier sites.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
This beautiful species is often very abundant in mountain meadows of western North America, especially in the Rocky Mountains, where it may form spectacular displays. It is often difficult to grow in cultivation outside its preferred habitats. Bulbs of this species were a staple food for native North American peoples of several tribes, and were eaten in large quantities and also traded. Within the typical subspecies, both anthers and pollen vary considerably in color; plants with pale anthers have been called var. pallidum, and forms with yellow anthers, var. chrysandrum. Plants possessing very short stigma lobes and lacking auricles on the tepals have been recognized as var. nudipetalum, but they do not appear sufficiently distinct to warrant taxonomic recognition and may simply represent depauperate forms.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Tepals white to creamy white, with yellow zone at base; anthers cream to yellow. | subsp. candidum |
1. Tepals bright yellow, with narrow paler zone at base; anthers cream, yellow, red, or purplish red. | subsp. grandiflorum |
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
LA Plants
MD Biodiversity
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
