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Erythronium hendersonii

Henderson's fawn-lily

beak trout-lily, yellow fawnlily, yellow troutlily

Bulbs

slender, 40–55 mm.

ovoid, 10–20 mm;

stolons 1–3, common, mostly on 1-leaved, nonflowering plants.

Leaves

10–25 cm;

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

5–18 cm;

blade green, irregularly mottled, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, ± flat, not glaucous, margins entire.

Scape

reddish, 12–30 cm.

3–10 cm.

Inflorescences

1–4-flowered.

1-flowered.

Flowers

tepals violet to pink, darker at tips, dark purple at base, broadly lanceolate, 18–35 mm, inner with small auricles at base;

stamens 10–14 mm;

filaments violet-purple, linear, slender, less than 0.8 mm wide;

anthers pale brown to purple;

style violet, 6–8 mm;

stigma unlobed or with lobes shorter than 1 mm.

held erect at anthesis;

tepals yellow, tinged red-purple or orange abaxially, mostly spreading at anthesis, lanceolate, 20–34 mm, inner with conspicuous, well-developed auricles almost encircling opposing filaments;

stamens 13–17 mm;

filaments yellow, lanceolate;

anthers yellow;

pollen yellow;

style persistent, greenish yellow, swollen distally into stigma, tapering gradually proximally to ovary, forming beak on capsule, 8–11 mm;

stigma lobes erect, short, 1 mm.

Capsules

obovoid, 2–4 cm.

held erect at maturity on upward-curving peduncle, ellipsoid to ellipsoid-obovoid, 15–25 mm (excluding beak), apex long-beaked.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Erythronium hendersonii

Erythronium rostratum

Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–Apr). Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry woods and forest openings Mesic woods, often in flood plains and along waterways, also on shaded lower ledges of bluffs
Elevation 300–1600 m (1000–5200 ft) 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; KS; KY; LA; MO; MS; OH; OK; TN; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Erythronium rostratum is found mostly on either side of the Mississippi River embayment, but rarely within it. It often forms extensive colonies where nonflowering, 1-leaved plants far outnumber flowering ones. This is the only species of Erythronium with erect rather than nodding flowers. Some plants at the western limits of the range are triploids (B. L. Carr 1986).

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 160. FNA vol. 26, p. 162.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Erythronium Liliaceae > Erythronium
Sibling taxa
E. albidum, E. americanum, E. californicum, E. citrinum, E. elegans, E. grandiflorum, E. helenae, 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. quinaultense, E. revolutum, E. taylorii, E. tuolumnense, E. umbilicatum
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 479. (1887) W. Wolf: Castanea 6: 24, plate 1. (1941)
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