Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Yellow Troutlily (Erythronium rostratum)

Yellow Troutlily
(Photo:  Jo Smith on 3/24/10)


Yellow Troutlily
(Erythronium rostratum)

The Troutlily's common name is based on the speckled appearance of its leaves. It is also commonly known as Dog-toothed Violet though it is, indeed, a member of the lily family and not a violet. The bottom side of the plant's rhizomes vaguely resemble canine teeth. The most common form of Troutlily has only one leaf and does not bloom. Blooming forms have two leaves.

eFlora says E. rostratum is found in Mesic woods, often in flood plains and along waterways, also on shaded lower ledges of bluffs. It is the shaded lower ledges of bluffs that provide Troutlily habitat in our woods where it has just begun blooming this year.

Yellow Troutlily is much less widely distributed than it's long, red-anthered cousin Erythronium americanum. It is limited to the Ozark Mountains and a few other isolated pockets in the south-central United States. Unlike the other members of its genus, E. rostratum has erect rather than nodding flowers. (Please see US Wildflowers for photos and information on Erythronium americanum.)

eFlora distribution maps for E. rostratum and E. americanum.


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9 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

This reminds me that I need to get into the woods to see what is blooming now. My little patch of wildflowers is not showing much except Spring Beauties right nown. Beautiful Photo Jo.

Deb said...

Gorgeous!

Pat - Arkansas said...

Lovely flower; great photo, Jo.

Shelly Cox said...

Beautiful spring flower. WE have trout lilies here in NW Missouri, but they are white and very definitely have nodding blooms.

KaHolly said...

Makes me crazy with waiting for my turn to welcome spring! Won't be long now! Thanks, Marvin. ~karen

AphotoAday said...

Hey, thanks for the link to the US Wildflowers site... I'm such a dummy when it comes to the names of plants -- this will really help.

Anonymous said...

We've got several weeks before we see ours!

Jeannette StG said...

this flower looks like a little start to me -makes me want to visit the Ozarks again:)

Unknown said...

What a beautiful photo, love the bright yellow and the shadow of it. It is too early over here for much flowers to blossom, I hope they soon will start.