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Erythronium elegans

Coast Range fawn lily, elegant fawn-lily

white fawnlily, white trout-lily

Bulbs

slender, 30–50 mm.

ovoid, 15–30 mm;

stolons 1–3, mostly on 1-leaved, nonflowering plants; flowering plants reproducing vegetatively by offshoots or droppers.

Leaves

7–20 cm;

blade green or faintly mottled with brown or white, narrowly ovate, margins often wavy.

8–22 cm;

blade green, irregularly mottled, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, ± flat, glaucous, margins entire.

Scape

10–30 cm.

7–20 cm.

Inflorescences

1–2(–4)-flowered.

1-flowered.

Flowers

tepals: inner ± white, outer ± white and tinged (often strongly) with pink, especially abaxially and along midline, becoming more generally pinkish with age, both inner and outer with yellow band at base, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 20–40 mm, abaxial surfaces and outer tepals often darker, inner auriculate at base;

stamens 13–22 mm;

filaments white, flattened, slightly widened, linear to lanceolate, 0.8–2 mm wide;

anthers yellow;

style white, 10–20 mm;

stigma with slender, usually recurved lobes 2–4 mm.

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.

Capsules

obovoid to oblong, 2–5 cm.

held erect at maturity, obovoid, 10–22 mm, apex rounded to faintly apiculate or umbilicate.

2n

= 48.

= 44.

Erythronium elegans

Erythronium albidum

Phenology Flowering late spring (May–Jun). Flowering spring.
Habitat Meadows and open coniferous forests Mesic bottomlands, upland forests, woodlands, clay and silt bottomlands, floodplain forests
Elevation 800–1000 m (2600–3300 ft) 0–300 m (0–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SD; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

This species is endemic to the Coast Ranges of western Oregon.

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

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.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 157. FNA vol. 26, p. 163.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Erythronium Liliaceae > Erythronium
Sibling taxa
E. albidum, E. americanum, E. californicum, E. citrinum, 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. 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. quinaultense, E. revolutum, E. rostratum, E. taylorii, E. tuolumnense, E. umbilicatum
Name authority P. C. Hammond & K. L. Chambers: Madroño 32: 49, fig. 1. (1985) Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 223. (1818)
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