Erythronium, the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth-violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family,Clennett, J.C.B. (2006). A taxonomic revision of Erythronium L. (Liliaceae): 1-290. Thesis, Open University, Ardingly, U.K.Clennett, C. (2014). The genus Erythronium: 1-158. Kew Publishing, Kew. most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek () "red" in Greek, referring to the red flowers of E. dens-canis. Of all the established species, most live in North America; only seven species are found in Europe and Asia.
Taxonomy It was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 1, p. 305). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358324 with Erythronium dens-canis as the type species. Species Erythronium currently includes 33 accepted species of hardy spring-flowering perennial plants with long, tooth-like bulbs. The leaves are broad lanceolate, plain green in some species, but marbled with brownish-purple in many species, or pale whitish-green in some. The slender flowering stems carry one to ten pendent flowers with six recurved tepals in shades of cream, yellow, pink or mauve. The fruit is a small capsule containing a few seeds. Species are native to forests and meadows in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Image Species Common name DistributionErythronium albidum Nutt. small white fawn-lily, white fawn-lily, white trout-lily, tooth-lily Ontario, east-central United States (Minnesota to Connecticut south to Texas and Alabama)Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl. trout-lily, yellow trout-lily, yellow adder's-tongue, yellow dogtooth violet Eastern Canada (Ontario to Labrador), Eastern United States (Maine to Georgia, west to the Mississippi River)Erythronium californicum Purdy California fawn-lily Northern CaliforniaErythronium caucasicum Woronow Caucasian dog's-tooth-violet Caucasus, IranErythronium citrinum S. Wats. cream fawn-lily Oregon, Northern CaliforniaErythronium dens-canis L. dog's-tooth-violet Southern and central Europe from Portugal to UkraineErythronium elegans Hammond & Chambers Coast Range fawn-lily OregonErythronium grandiflorum Pursh dogtooth lily, glacier lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lily western Canada, western United States Erythronium helenae Applegate Pacific fawn-lily California (Sonoma, Napa, Lake Cos.)Erythronium hendersonii S. Wats. Henderson's fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California Erythronium howellii S. Wats. Howell's fawn-lily Oregon, Northern CaliforniaErythronium idahoense H.St.John & G.N.Jones - Idaho fawn-lily Montana, Idaho, Washington state Erythronium japonicum Decne. katakuri Japan, Korea, Russia (Kuril Islands, Sakhalin), northeastern China (Jilin, Liaoning) Erythronium klamathense Applegate Klamath fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California Erythronium krylovii Stepanov Tuvan trout-lily Russia (Tuva, Krasnoyarsk)Erythronium mesochoreum Knerr midland fawn-lily, white fawn-lily Central United States (TX to NE, IN)Erythronium montanum S. Wats. avalanche lily, white avalanche-lily BC, Washington state, Oregon Erythronium multiscapideum (Kellogg) A. Nels. & Kennedy Sierra fawn-lily California Erythronium oregonum Applegate giant white fawn-lily BC, Washington, California, Oregon Erythronium pluriflorum Shevock, Bartel & G.A.Allen manyflower fawn-lily Madera Co in California Erythronium propullans Gray dwarf trout-lily Minnesota Erythronium purpurascens S. Wats. purple fawn-lily California Erythronium pusaterii (Munz & J.T. Howell) Shevock, Bartel & G.A.Allen Kaweah Lakes fawn-lily Tulare Co in California Erythronium quinaultense G.A.Allen Olympic fawn-lily Olympic Peninsula in Washington state Erythronium revolutum Sm. mahogany fawn-lily BC, Washington state, Oregon, California Erythronium rostratum W.Wolf yellow trout-lily south-central United States Erythronium sajanense Stepanov & Stassova Krasnoyarsk in Russia Erythronium shastense D.A.York, J.K.Nelson & D.W.Taylor Shasta fawn lily Northern California Erythronium sibiricum (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Krylov Siberian fawn-lily Siberia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia Erythronium sulevii (Rukšans) Stepanov Altay Krai in Russia Erythronium taylorii Shevock & G.A.Allen Taylor's fawn-lily Tuolumne Co California Erythronium tuolumnense Applegate Tuolumne fawn-lily Tuolumne Co in California Erythronium umbilicatum Parks & Hardin dimpled trout-lily southeastern United States (Florida to Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland)
Formerly included Two species names were coined using the name Erythronium which have since been reclassified to other taxa. Erythronium carolinianum, now called Uvularia perfoliata Erythronium hyacinthoides, now called Drimia indica
Cultivation and uses Erythroniums are woodland plants and require rich soil, full of organic matter. Soil should be evenly moist and slightly acidic. They prefer shade or filtered sunlight.
Erythroniums are widely grown as ornamental plants, with numerous hybrids and cultivars having been selected for garden use. Popular cultivars include Erythronium 'Pagoda', E. 'Sundisc', E. 'Joanna', E. 'Kondo', E. 'Citronella', E. californicum 'White Beauty', and E. 'Rosalind'. Propagation is best by seed in autumn or by division of bulbs, depending on species. Some species propagate vegetatively. The plant is also used as a ground cover; it will spread over several years.
The following cultivars, of mixed ancestry, have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: 'Apple Blossom' (white with yellow centre) 'Janice' (pink) 'Joanna' (cream/pale yellow throat) 'Pagoda' (cream yellow) 'Sundisc' (yellow) 'Wildside Seedling' (white/yellow) The bulb is edible as a root vegetable, cooked or dried, and can be ground into flour. The leaves can also be cooked as a leaf vegetable. In Japan, Erythronium japonicum is called katakuri, and the bulb is processed to produce starch, which is used for food and other purposes.
See also
List of plants known as lily
References
Bibliography