“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ” ~ John Burroughs
As the earth warms in April and the brisk winds still blow, I can be found laying down or crawling on the meadow floor in search of the spotted leaves of Trout Lily…looking for the flower budding and busting open like a lantern with its exotic flower. I fell in love with this plant when it was a mass of spotted leaves in my old garden…never blooming but making a beautiful ground cover beneath an American Basswood tree.
Yellow trout-lily, Erythronium americanum, is known as a spring ephemeral and harbinger of spring. These wildflowers are here and gone before you know it. You have to be on the lookout for this plant in
early to mid April in the wet deciduous woods as they only grow 5-10 inches above the ground. Once the leaves emerge you must keep a careful watch for the yellow flowers as they track the sun and close at night. The flowers look like tiny lilies only 1-2-inch in size. I was fascinated to see these flowers in my meadow, but that meadow was actually once a moist woods that was cleared for houses to be built.
After learning that it takes 7 years for a plant to flower, I count myself lucky to have these delicate flowers appear in my meadow and a few spots in the back garden. Trout Lilies are pollinated by ants.
Trout Lily has a fascinating seed dispersal mechanism – its seeds are dispersed by ants through a process called myrmecochory (pronounced “mirme ko ko re”). Attached to the outside of the seeds is a fleshy structure called an elaiosome. The elaiosome is rich in oils and proteins. Ants carry the seed to their nest and feed the elaiosome to their larvae. The remaining seed is discarded in the ant’s nutrient-rich waste pile. This symbiotic relationship benefits the ant, which gets a food source, and benefits the plant because the seed is dispersed, is protected from rodents, and is placed in a nutrient rich area in the ants nest where the seed has a greater likelihood of growing. Andy’s northern Ontario Wildflowers
The seed or corm, as they age, will push farther into the ground to well over a foot beneath the soil. An immature plant will have a single leaf, and flowering plants will produce 2 leaves. As they become established they will spread by runners from the corm to where they spread into a wonderful mass. In some areas where the trout lily flourishes in old forests, they have found whole colonies that were anywhere from 150 to 1,300 years old.
Origin
Erythronium are part of the lily family (Liliaceae). They can be found throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Carl Linnaeus is said to have given this wildflower its earliest English name, “dogtooth-violet”, named for the European purple flowering variety, Erythronium dens-canis.
Most of the Erythroniums are found in North American, and most flower yellow or white. There are 22 varieties in the US, and most are found out west. E. umbilicatum, is found in the Southeast, usually in Virginia along with the white flowering, E. albidum,which is found along the Potomac River.
The pink flowering, E. propullans, is found only in Minnesota. I would love to grow this and have seen it in pictures. But I will stick with my native yellow flowering variety.
Name
The shape of the leaves are what has inspired the names 
Trout Lily and Adder’s Tongue. Some say the arch of the leaves or the way the stamens protrude from the flower are what gave it the name Adder’s Tongue.
Naturalist John Burroughs came up with the names “trout-lily” and “fawn-lily” to replace “dog-tooth violet”. Trout lily is said to refer to the brown spots on the leaves that resemble a brook or brown trout. These flowers also come up around trout season. The speckled leaves are also said to resemble a fawn’s spots.
Uses
This wildflower can be eaten in foods and used for cures. Some will add it to salads or cook it as an herb although one should use caution here since it may induce vomiting. It has been used in alternative methods of medicine as a contraceptive, diuretic, stimulant, to induce vomiting and reduce fever. As a tea made from root and leaf, it can help with ulcers, tumors and swollen glands. As a poultice made from the leaves and bulb, it can help with wounds to reduce swelling and help with some skin problems.
Trout Lily was listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States in the early 1800s. It was used to treat gout. Some feel the properties of the plant may prove to be valuable in the fight to cure cancer.
Folklore
There is much folklore regarding this plant and its early uses amongst Native Americans.
Cherokee supposedly would:
- chew the root and spit it in the water as they fished to make fish bite.
- warm leaves, crush them and pour the liquid over wounds to heal them.
- use the root to make a concoction to reduce fever.
- create something from the plant to help stop fainting.
Iroquois supposedly would:
- eat the raw plants (not the roots) to prevent conception.
- make a poultice of the roots to treat swellings and to remove slivers.
Language of Flowers
There is no direct meaning attributed to this flower so I will take a bit of license here, and use the meaning of a yellow lily since technically it is a lily. In the language of flowers, a yellow lily means walking on air, happy and gratitude. I find this the perfect meaning of this spring wildflower for when I see it I am indeed walking on air and grateful that it is still blooming in my garden.
I am linking in with Diana@Elephants Eye for her Diana’s Dozen. Trout Lily is one of my 12 favorite flowers I plan to add more of in my garden this year.
Pagoda flower
Alights over spotted leaf
Tiny lanterns glow
Donna Donabella
Seed Contest
Don’t forget to enter the seed giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and include your favorite vegetable to grow or eat. The contest will end this Sunday at 6 pm EST with the winner announced Monday. All seed is packaged for 2011 and 2012. There will be one Grand Prize winner who will receive a bundle of veggie seeds:
Beefsteak Tomato Radish Turnip Melon Asparagus Broccoli Cucumber Pumpkin Pea Sweet Pepper
And there will be six runner ups receiving a packet of Beefsteak Tomato seed.
This can only be open to those residing in the US. And to make sure I am compliant with full disclosure, I purchased the seed I am giving away.
Visit my latest post for Beautiful Wildlife Garden to learn more about the Great Backyard Bird Count.
It is great fun.
Next on the Blog: Monday will be my GBBD post as I showcase blossoms from my white garden. I will also be highlighting a bird gardening book as I count my birds in the garden from the 17th to the 20th. And as February ends, I will be continuing my Exploring Colors with favorite purple natives.
As always, I’ll be joining Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday. So drop by to check out all the blooms this Friday.
Please remember, to comment click on the title of the post and the page will reload with the comments section.
What a beautiful flower. You are indeed very lucky to have this blooming given that it takes so long for them to flower. They look fantastic popping up in your meadow. The information made great reading too!
So happy to hear you liked the fascinating info about this beautiful wildflower. I do feel lucky!
Fabulous post! This is such an intriguing plant! You are very lucky to having it growing in your meadow! Right now I am on an edamame kick! I am putting it in salads, salsa, etc. Can’t wait to grow it this year and hope that the kudzu bugs don’t attack!
I have never grown edamame but love to eat it. So glad you loved the post….wildflowers are fascinating plants.
What a beautiful wildflower. Seven years to bloom is a long time! I guess I should get started with them now if I expect to ever see them here. How lucky you are to have them in your meadow!
You will love seeing those leaves Tina…
What a stunning little flower. Really enjoyed reading your post.
Although I can’t take part in your give away I love to grow all veggies!
Oh Sue I love to grow veggies too..so glad you enjoyed the post.
I LOVE that John Burroughs quote – and the tiny trout lily!
It was such a perfect quote…glad you enjoyed both.
I am lucky to have moved into a house where Trout Lily was growing. Even years later there are many more leaves than flowers, but I am right there with you in April waiting and watching for them to flower. Andy’s website is definitely the place to go to for information on native plants, especially for people like me in Ontario.
Patty we have such similar wildflowers growing in similar conditions…how lucky you are to have this wonderful plant. I enjoyed Andy’s website because it had facts about plants you won’t find other places…here’s hoping we see the yellow lilies this year…
What an enchanting and perfect plant to give your garden a sense of place.
You and Pam so far. Would love you to put a link in for my meme?
so sorry..I could have sworn it was there…it is there now 🙂
I’ve always seen the real dens-canis which is star shaped, a little more up-pointing and light pink. It grows spontaneously in woodlands here. I always wonder where was the connection with some dog teeth…
The american yellow one is much more interesting for garden use, very similar to a lily.
But is your meadow already in flower? I can’t believe it, you complained about the snow only a few days ago…
No my meadow is not in flower yet…actually we may have snow again this weekend. I don’t expect to see my meadow flower until maybe sometime in March and this lily will show up in mid to late April…sorry if I confused you!! Glad you enjoyed the little lily…
Very interesting information about this lily, especially about the ants pollinating it. We generally think about flying pollinators, but not ants! And now I know what the dog-toothed violet is! Didn’t realize before now that this is what they were referring to. I got so riled up at your landscaper last time, I forgot to tell you my favorite vegetable. I think it would be brussels sprouts. Even my husband has said we eat them so often he’s learned to like them!
I find wildflowers are so unusual especially with pollinators…I love sprouts as well…I learned to love them once we sautéed them in garlic and olie oil!
Very interesting information….very similar to the Daff from long distance huh? I love growing and eating tomatoes….
Yes they resemble a tiny daff…so cute.
What a lovely flower, the trout lily; I’ve never heard of it before. Very interesting facts about it. I’ve just began to get interested in all the facts about different flowers.
Lilies are one of my favorite flowers in my garden.
So glad you enjoyed the post…These are a sweet wildflower.
thank you so much for linking in today! I am so glad to have so many wonderful gardens to look at …and so much great info to read! I hope to see you again soon…and to come back and catch up in a few days!
Glad you were finally able to visit…hope all is well.
Interesting–the leaves of the Trout Lily look kind of like Orchid leaves. The yellow flowers are so pretty. They must be a sight to see in early spring!
Beth I think they look like an orchid as well..they are such a lovely sight in flower or just a mass of spotted leaves.
I very much enjoyed your in-depth post on Trout Lilies. There are a couple local spots around here that I’ve seen that have whole hillsides covered with Trout Lilies — truly a splendid sight!
If you ever get a chance to take some pictures of the hillsides covered with trout lilies, I would love to see them…
Dear Donna, Another informative posting — beautifully written and illustrated. Can’t wait for the earth to warm. P. x
Thx Pam. I will be looking so forward to spring soon…
Donna – Yes , it really does look like a lantern in the first photo.
I wrote a Thank-You post to Holley & yourself, hope you like it.
I loved your thank you…nicest one I ever had…
I remember seeing Erythronium for the first time at Sissinghurst Castle and falling in love with it. I’ve never had the right conditions to grow it myself, yours look lovely. Christina
Thx Christina. It is such an easy flower to love.
There is a colony of this trout lily in my woodland but it rarely flowers. I love it for its leaves. The name dog-tooth came from the shape of the bulb which looks like a canine tooth. This is true of E. dens-canis and E. x ‘Pagoda’. I have never dug up the local native.
If you ever get the notion, you may want to divide the colony to get it to flower more…But you are right, the leaves are just amazing!
Donna, the trout lily is one of my all-time favorite flowers! We used to see them up in northern Wisconsin and I photographed a number of them – red ones, white ones, and yellow – in Ithaca last April. I just love them and wish so much I could have them here…our yard is shady enough for them, but it’s tricky finding a good source for them.
How fascinating that they are pollinated by ants! I’m thrilled by that whole story / relationship. Nature certainly is amazing.
Thanks for sharing all this terrific info about trout lilies. I would never have known!
Aimee, How wonderful to have so many memories with this great flower…Even with a source, they take a bit to establish…so glad you enjoyed the post!!
Thank you for your wonderful article. I was wondering if the trout lilies in my yard were edible or not.
Constance it depends. I only know about the wild trout lilies as referenced in this post. If the trout lilies you have our the native ones then according to what I have read yes you can eat them but I always use caution.