Sunday, April 10, 2011

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium rostratum)



Yellow Trout Lily is another woodland wildflower that begins blooming here in mid-March. This photo Jo took on March 17, is one of the very first trout lily blooms we saw in 2011. The trout lily's common name is based upon its mottled leaves. (Here is a previous post with a photo that shows leaves.)


Trout lilies are also known as Dog-toothed Violets. The numerous rhizomes on the bottom of its root could resemble a dog's jaw and canine teeth if you've got a good imagination. However, it is a member of the lily family and not a violet. Both leaves and roots are supposedly edible, although I've never been hungry enough to give either a try.


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.

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6 comments:

Mike B. @ slugyard.com said...

Beautiful photo! We had one sunny day on Friday and some flowers exploded. Now we're back to a week of clouds and rain.

TexWisGirl said...

very pretty! i love all your woodland wildflowers - so much like wisconsin.

Appalachian Lady said...

Lovely--we don't have the trout lily on our land but it is in this area.

Anne McCormack said...

Trout lily is one of my favorites! I haven't seen any yet in eastern Missouri.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Beautiful! Gardening Daughter recently spied some sort of wild flower that, from the leaves, she believed to be Trout Lily, but its bloom was white.

Good photo, Jo.

Anonymous said...

Lovely light and color. I haven't seen any blossoming here yet.