Flora of North America species comparison

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Erythronium oregonum

Erythronium mesochoreum

deer's tongue, giant fawn-lily, giant white fawn-lily, Oregon fawn-lily, white fawn lily, wild Easter lily

midland fawnlily, prairie trout-lily, white fawnlily
Bulbs

narrowly ovoid, 25–60 mm, sometimes producing sessile offsets.

ovoid to ± globose, 10–25 mm;

stolons absent; flowering plants reproducing vegetatively by droppers or offshoots.
Leaves

12–25 cm;

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

5–14 cm;

blade green, usually not mottled, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, conduplicate, glaucous, base and margins sometimes purple-brown, margins even.
Scape

± reddish, 15–40 cm.

5–15 cm.
Inflorescences

1–3-flowered.

1-flowered.
Flowers

tepals white to creamy white with yellow base at anthesis, sometimes pinkish in age, sometimes with red lines or bands, elliptic to narrowly ovate, 25–40 mm, inner with small auricles at base;

stamens 12–25 mm;

filaments white, flattened, ± lanceolate, 2–3 mm wide;

anthers cream to yellow;

style white, 12–18 mm;

stigma with recurved lobes 3–6 mm.

tepals spreading at anthesis, white, tinged pink, blue, or lavender abaxially, with yellow adaxial spot at base, lanceolate, 15–30 mm, auricles absent;

stamens 8–15 mm;

filaments yellow, lanceolate;

anthers yellow;

pollen yellow;

style white, 7–10 mm;

stigma lobes recurving, 1–1.5 mm.
Capsules

oblong to narrowly obovoid, 3–5 cm.

resting on ground at maturity due to reclining peduncle, obovoid, 10–15 mm, apex rounded to faintly apiculate or umbilicate.
2n

= 24.

= 22.

Erythronium oregonum

Erythronium mesochoreum
Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–May). Flowering spring.
Habitat Open coniferous forests, rocky outcrops, oak woodlands, meadows Prairies, glades, dry, open woods, occasionally pastures
Elevation 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) 100–700 m (300–2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; IA; IL; KS; MO; NE; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Forms from the southern part of the range with cream-white tepals and pale anthers have been described as subsp. leucandrum. This species is closely related to E. revolutum and occasionally hybridizes with it where their ranges meet. In addition, E. citrinum and E. hendersonii are reported to hybridize with E. oregonum in the southern part of its range.

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

Because stolons are absent in Erythronium mesochoreum, most plants in a population produce flowers; nonflowering plants may sometimes appear after flowering plants have flowered. This species is well adapted to prairie fires. The seeds have elaiosomes, and ants may act as dispersal agents (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). C. C. Deam et al. (1941) reported E. mesochoreum from Indiana, but an examination of the specimens cited, now at IND, showed that these are E. albidum. E. L. Braun (1967) reported that many populations of E. albidum in southwestern Ohio indicate introgression with “the Ozarkean var. mesochoreum.” However, personal observation by K. R. Robertson of several Ohio populations in flower confirmed that these plants are true E. albidum, although they occur in prairies and have more or less conduplicate leaves.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 158. FNA vol. 26, p. 163.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Erythronium Liliaceae > Erythronium
Sibling taxa
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. 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. 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
Synonyms E. giganteum subsp. leucandrum, E. oregonum subsp. leucandrum E. albidum var. coloratum, E. albidum var. mesochoreum
Name authority Applegate: Madroño 3: 99. (1935) Knerr: Midland College Monthly 2: 5. (1891)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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