Trout Lily - Erythronium americanum
Above pictures of Trout Lilies taken on the Culham Trail in Riverwood Park, Mississaugua,April 23rd.
The Trout Lily or Adder's Tongue is composed
of a delicate yellow bell-shaped flower nestled between two mottled basal
leaves. It can easily be confused with the common Bellwort but the leaves
are of a different arrangement. It is found in open woodlands and low lying
areas but not open fields. Often found in the same area as Trillium and
Mayapple.
This beautiful member of the Lily Family has
many common names, which include Trout Lily and Dog-Tooth Violet.
The Trout Lily is pollinated by ants, and
after a seed is planted, it will take up to seven years to make a mature
plant. Only plants that have two leaves will flower.
The mature plant has two mottled basal leaves,
and a small lily nodding from the top of a leafless stem (scape). The lily
is yellow, with three sepals and three petals (6 tepals). The sepals are
yellow on the inside and purplish brown on the back. The petals are entirely
yellow.
The lily opens each morning and closes each
night, but during the middle of a bright day the tepals open so far that
they often curve backwards in a reflexed position.
The plant grows from a deep rootstock or corm
which is 3-5 inches underground, and it often spreads from offshoots of
this corm, thus creating colonies of trout lilies. They grow best in a
deciduous woodland environment where they receive filtered light in the
spring. They prefer a humus rich soil.
Go
To Flower List
Go
To Flowers By Colour
Go
To White Flowers
Go
To Blue Flowers
Go
To Yellow Flowers
Go
To Red or Pink Flowers
Go
To Green Flowers
Go
To Orange Flowers
Go To
Index Page