Erythronium grandiflorum

Last updated

Erythronium grandiflorum
Erythronium grandiflorum 5077.JPG
In Mount Rainier National Park
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Lilieae
Genus: Erythronium
Species:
E. grandiflorum
Binomial name
Erythronium grandiflorum
Synonyms [2]
List
    • Erythronium giganteum Lindl.
    • Erythronium leptopetalum Rydb.
    • Erythronium maximum Douglas ex Baker
    • Erythronium nudipetalum Applegate
    • Erythronium obtusatum Goodd.
    • Erythronium pallidum (H.St.John) G.N.Jones
    • Erythronium parviflorum (S.Watson) Goodd.
    • Erythronium speciosum Nutt. ex Baker
    • Erythronium utahense Rydb.

Erythronium grandiflorum is a North American species of plants in the lily family. It is known by several common names, including yellow avalanche lily, glacier lily, and dogtooth fawn lily. [3] [4] The Ktunaxa name for glacier lily is maxa. [5]

Contents

Description

Erythronium grandiflorum grows from a deep bulb (or corm) which is 3 to 5 centimeters wide. Its two green leaves are wavy-edged and up to 20 centimeters long. The stalk may reach 30 centimeters tall and bears one to three showy flowers. Each flower has bright lemon yellow petals, white stamens with large white to yellow to red anthers, and a white style. [6]

Taxonomy

Erythronium grandiflorum is classified in genus Erythronium in the family Liliaceae. It has no subspecies or varieties according to Plants of the World Online (POWO). [2] The subspecies Erythronium grandiflorum subsp. candidum, though found in Flora of North America , [7] is considered to be a species named Erythronium idahoense. [8]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta south to New Mexico and California, though it has not been reported from Arizona or Nevada. [9] It can be found in subalpine mountain meadows, slopes, and clearings. [2] [10]

Ecology

The flower is pollinated by bumblebees and other bees. The bulbs are an important and preferred food of the grizzly bear. Mule deer readily eat the foliage. [11] [12] [13]

After hummingbirds migrate 1,500 miles each year from Mexico to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado they collect energy from the nectar of the lilies, however, rising temperatures from global warming cause the flowers to bloom, and also to wither, earlier each year. As of 2023, the danger is foreseen that in 20 years the birds may arrive from their long migration to find their usually reliable nourishment unavailable because of premature withering. [14]

Uses

The bulbs can be eaten cooked or raw to avoid starvation [15] (though they can cause nausea this way). [16] The leaves and flowers are also edible raw or cooked. [17]

Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum with red anthers.jpg
Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum with white anthers.jpg
Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum with yellow anthers.jpg
Anther color variation

Related Research Articles

<i>Erythronium</i> Genus of flowering plants

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

<i>Fritillaria affinis</i> Species of flowering plant

Fritillaria affinis, the chocolate lily, is a highly variable species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae native to western North America.

<i>Toxicoscordion venenosum</i> Western North American flowering plant

Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is named for its well known toxic qualities, with both its common names and its scientific name referencing this. Because its nectar is also poisonous, it is mainly pollinated by the death camas miner bee, which specializes in collecting the toxic pollen for its young. It is native to western North America from New Mexico to Saskatchewan and west to the Pacific Ocean.

<i>Erythronium albidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium albidum, the white fawnlily or white trout lily, is a small herbaceous geophyte in the lily family. It is also known as adder's tongue, whitedog's-tooth violet, serpent's tongue, trout lily, deer tongue, creeklily and yellow snowdrop. Large numbers of this plant indicate that the woodland has never been subjected to heavy machinery, where it would be unable to grow due to soil compaction.

<i>Berberis nervosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Berberis nervosa, commonly known as dwarf Oregon-grape, Cascade barberry, Cascade Oregon-grape, or dull Oregon-grape, is a flowering plant native to the northwest coast of North America from southern British Columbia south to central California, with an isolated population inland in northern Idaho. It is especially common in second growth, Douglas-fir or western redcedar forests, making use of those pools of sunlight that intermittently reach the ground.

<i>Erythronium americanum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium americanum, the trout lily, yellow trout lily, fawn lily, yellow adder's-tongue, or yellow dogtooth violet, is a species of perennial, colony forming, spring ephemeral flower native to North America and dwelling in woodland habitats. Within its range it is a very common and widespread species, especially in eastern North America. The common name "trout lily" refers to the appearance of its gray-green leaves mottled with brown or gray, which allegedly resemble the coloring of brook trout.

<i>Calochortus nuttallii</i> Plant species in the lily family

Calochortus nuttallii, also known as the sego lily, is a bulbous perennial plant that is endemic to the Western United States. The common name of sego comes from a similar Shoshone word. It is the state flower of Utah.

<i>Allium cernuum</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium cernuum, known as nodding onion or lady's leek, is a perennial plant in the genus Allium. It grows in open areas in North America.

<i>Erythronium revolutum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium revolutum is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae which is known by several common names, including mahogany fawn lily, coast fawn lily, and pink fawn lily. It is native to the west coast of North America.

<i>Claytonia lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia lanceolata is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae, known by the common names lanceleaf springbeauty and western springbeauty.

<i>Erythronium montanum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium montanum, the avalanche lily or white avalanche lily, is a member of the lily family native to coastal British Columbia and the alpine and subalpine Olympic and Cascade Ranges of the Pacific Northwest of Washington and Oregon.

<i>Erythronium helenae</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium helenae is a species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common names Pacific fawn lily and St. Helena fawn lily. It is endemic to the coastal mountains north of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is named for the local peak Mount Saint Helena, forming the point where Napa, Sonoma and Lake Counties meet. It grows on the slopes of the mountain at elevations of 500–1200 m, often on serpentine soils.

<i>Erythronium multiscapideum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium multiscapideum is a California species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common name Sierra fawn lily.

<i>Erythronium oregonum</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium oregonum is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common name giant white fawnlily or Oregon fawn-lily.

<i>Erythronium purpurascens</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium purpurascens is a species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common names purple fawn lily and Sierra Nevada fawn lily.

<i>Brodiaea coronaria</i> Species of tree

Brodiaea coronaria is the type species of Brodiaea and also known by the common names harvest brodiaea and crown brodiaea. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountains and grasslands.

<i>Erythronium pusaterii</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythronium pusaterii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Kaweah Lakes fawn lily and Hocket Lakes fawn lily.

<i>Toxicoscordion paniculatum</i> Species of plant in the deathcamas genus

Toxicoscordion paniculatum is a species of flowering plant known by the common names foothill deathcamas, panicled death-camas, and sand-corn. It is widely distributed across much of the western United States, especially in the mountains and deserts of the Great Basin region west of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitats, including sagebrush plateau, grasslands, forests, and woodlands.

Erythronium elegans is a rare species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Coast Range fawnlily and elegant fawnlily. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is known from about 12 occurrences in the northern Coast Range.

Erythronium idahoense, commonly known as Idaho fawn lily, is a white-flowered plant in the Lily family native to the northwestern United States. Its habitats include grasslands and forest openings.

References

  1. NatureServe (3 January 2025). "Erythronium grandiflorum". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  3. Jepson Manual Treatment
  4. United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
  5. "FirstVoices- Ktunaxa. Plants: food plants: words". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  6. "Yellow Avalanche Lily, Erythronium grandiflorum". calscape.org.
  7. Allen, Geraldine A.; Robertson, Kenneth R. (5 November 2020). "Erythronium grandiflorum". Flora of North America . Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  8. "Erythronium idahoense H.St.John & G.N.Jones". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  9. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  10. Clennett, C. (2014). The genus Erythronium: 1-158. Kew Publishing, Kew.
  11. Pursh, Frederick Traugott. 1814. Flora Americae Septentrionalis 1: 231
  12. Hitchcock, C. H., A.J. Cronquist, F. M. Ownbey & J. W. Thompson. 1969. Vascular Cryptogams, Gymnosperms, and Monocotyledons. 1: 1–914. In C. L. Hitchcock Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
  13. Applegate, Elmer Ivan. 1933.
  14. "Ice". Evolution Earth. Season 1. Episode 4. 22 October 2023. PBS.
  15. Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 36.
  16. Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updated ed.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. p. 91. ISBN   978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC   668195076.
  17. Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN   978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC   965922681.