Erythronium

For the chemical element formerly named erythronium, see vanadium.

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,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} most closely related to tulips.^[7] The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós) "red" in Greek, referring to the red flowers of E. dens-canis.^[7] Of all the established species, most live in North America; only six species are found in Europe and Asia.

Erythronium
Erythronium dens-canis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Subfamily:	Lilioideae
Tribe:	Lilieae
Genus:	Erythronium L.
Type species
Erythronium dens-canis L.
Synonyms[1]
Mithridatium Adans. 1763, illegitimate superfluous name Dens-canis Tourn. ex Rupp. 1745, not validly published

Species

Erythronium includes about 20–30 species of hardy spring-flowering perennial plants with long, tooth-like bulbs. Slender stems carry pendent flowers with recurved tepals in shades of cream, yellow, pink and mauve. Species are native to forests and meadows in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.^[1][8][9]

Image	Species	Common name	Distribution
	Erythronium albidum Nutt.	small white fawn-lily, white fawn-lily, white trout-lily, tooth-lily	Ontario, east-central United States (MN to CT south to TX, AL)
	Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl.	trout-lily, yellow trout-lily, yellow adder's-tongue, yellow dogtooth violet	Eastern Canada (Ontario to Labrador), Eastern United States (ME to GA, West to Mississippi River)
	Erythronium californicum Purdy	California fawn-lily	Northern California
	Erythronium caucasicum Woronow	Caucasian dog's tooth violet	Caucasus, Iran
	Erythronium citrinum S. Wats.	cream fawn-lily	Oregon, Northern California
	Erythronium dens-canis L.	dog's-tooth violet	Southern, Central Europe from Portugal to Ukraine
	Erythronium elegans Hammond & Chambers	Coast Range fawn-lily	Oregon
	Erythronium 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 California
	Erythronium idahoense H.St.John & G.N.Jones -	Idaho fawn-lily	Montana, Idaho, Washington state
	Erythronium japonicum Decne.	katakuri	Japan, Korea, Russia (Kuril Islands, Sakhalin), 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 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 but have since been reclassified to other taxa.

• Erythronium carolinianum, now called Uvularia perfoliata
• Erythronium hyacinthoides, now called Drimia indica

Cultivation and uses

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 great as a ground cover, as it will spread over several years.

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.^[10]

The following cultivars, of mixed ancestry, have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

• 'Apple Blossom' ^[11] (white with yellow centre)
• 'Janice' ^[12] (pink)
• 'Joanna' ^[13] (cream/pale yellow throat)
• 'Pagoda' ^[14] (cream yellow)
• 'Sundisc'^[15] (yellow)
• 'Wildside Seedling' ^[16] (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

1. "Erythronium". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
2. Hickman, James C., ed. (1993). "Erythronium". The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University and Jepson Herbaria.
3. Chen, Xinqi; Tamura, Minoru N. "Erythronium". Flora of China. Vol. 24 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
4. "Dente di cane, Dog's Tooth Violet, genere Erythronium". Altervista Flora Italiana.
5. Clennett, J.C.B. (2006). A taxonomic revision of Erythronium L. (Liliaceae): 1-290. Thesis, Open University, Ardingly, U.K.
6. Clennett, C. (2014). The genus Erythronium: 1-158. Kew Publishing, Kew.
7. Allen, Geraldine A.; Robertson, Kenneth R. (2002). "Erythronium". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
8. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1-4053-3296-5.
9. "Erythronium". County-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
10. Johnson, Lorraine (1999). 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books Ltd. p. 110. ISBN 1-55209-327-1.
11. "Erythronium 'Apple Blossom'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
12. "Erythronium 'Janice'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
13. "Erythronium 'Joanna'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
14. "Erythronium 'Pagoda'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
15. "Erythronium 'Sundisc'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
16. "Erythronium 'Wildside Seedling'". RHS. Retrieved 18 June 2020.

Bibliography

• "Erythronium 'Pagoda'". Royal Horrticultural Society. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
• Clennett, John C. B.; Chase, Mark W.; Forest, Félix; Maurin, Olivier; Wilkin, Paul (December 2012). "Phylogenetic systematics of Erythronium (Liliaceae): morphological and molecular analyses". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 170 (4): 504–528. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01302.x.