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Erythronium citrinum

citrus fawn lily, cream fawn lily, lemon color fawn lily, lemon fawn lily, pale fawn-lily

fawnlily, Olympic fawn-lily, quinault fawn-lily, quinault trout-lily

Bulbs

slender, 40–50 mm, sometimes producing sessile offsets.

narrowly ovoid, 35–75 mm.

Leaves

9–15 cm;

blade mottled with irregular streaks of brown or white, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, margins ± wavy.

12–20 cm;

blade green or faintly mottled with white or brown, lanceolate to ovate, margins ± wavy.

Scape

12–35 cm.

12–25 cm.

Inflorescences

1–3-flowered.

1–3-flowered.

Flowers

tepals ± white, often pinkish, usually pale yellow at base, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 25–45 mm, inner with or without small auricles at base;

stamens 11–17 mm;

filaments linear, white or pinkish, slender, less than 0.8 mm wide;

anthers white, cream, pink, reddish, or brownish red;

style straight, white or pink, 6–10 mm;

stigma unlobed or with lobes shorter than 1 mm.

tepals white proximally, shading to pink at outer margins, darkest toward tips, with yellow band at base, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 30–50 mm, inner with small auricles at base;

stamens 12–24 mm;

filaments white, flattened, slightly widened, linear to lanceolate, 1–2 mm wide;

anthers yellow;

style white, 10–18 mm;

stigma with slender, usually recurved lobes 1–5 mm.

Capsules

obovoid, 2–5 cm.

oblong to obovoid, 3–6 cm.

2n

= 24.

= 48.

Erythronium citrinum

Erythronium quinaultense

Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–May). Flowering late spring (May).
Habitat Dry woods, brushy slopes, common on serpentine substrates Openings and rocky ledges in coniferous forests
Elevation 100–1300 (–1800) m (300–4300 (–5900) ft) 500–900 m (1600–3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Plants lacking auricles on inner tepals are sometimes segregated as Erythronium howellii, Howell’s fawn-lily, but they do not appear to differ from typical E. citrinum in any other characters. Erythronium citrinum intergrades with E. californicum and E. hendersonii, occasional populations or individuals displaying intermediate or recombined characteristics. Such plants from the upper Scott River drainage in Trinity County, California, which may be the result of introgression with E. hendersonii, have been recognized as variety roderickii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Erythronium quinaultense is a tetraploid species apparently derived from hybridization between E. montanum and E. revolutum. It is known only from the southwestern Olympic Peninsula.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 160. FNA vol. 26, p. 158.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Erythronium Liliaceae > Erythronium
Sibling taxa
E. albidum, E. americanum, E. californicum, E. elegans, E. grandiflorum, E. helenae, E. hendersonii, E. klamathense, E. mesochoreum, E. montanum, E. multiscapideum, E. oregonum, E. pluriflorum, E. propullans, E. purpurascens, E. pusaterii, E. quinaultense, E. revolutum, E. rostratum, E. taylorii, E. tuolumnense, E. umbilicatum
E. albidum, E. americanum, E. californicum, E. citrinum, E. elegans, E. grandiflorum, E. helenae, E. hendersonii, E. klamathense, E. mesochoreum, E. montanum, E. multiscapideum, E. oregonum, E. pluriflorum, E. propullans, E. purpurascens, E. pusaterii, E. revolutum, E. rostratum, E. taylorii, E. tuolumnense, E. umbilicatum
Synonyms E. citrinum var. roderickii, E. howellii
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 480. (1887) G. A. Allen: Syst. Bot. 26: 269, fig. 3. (2001)
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