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American trout-lily, dogtooth violet, trout lily, yellow trout-lily, érythrone d'amérique

Bulbs

ovoid, 15–28 mm;

stolons 1–3, common, mostly on 1-leaved, nonflowering plants.

Leaves

8–23 cm;

blade green, irregularly mottled, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, ± flat, glaucous, margins entire.

Scape

10–18 cm.

Inflorescences

1-flowered.

Flowers

tepals yellow, sometimes tinged light to dark purple-red abaxially, sometimes with reddish dots adaxially, strongly reflexed at anthesis, lanceolate, 20–33 mm, inner with small auricles;

stamens 9–15 mm;

filaments yellow, lanceolate;

anthers yellow, chestnut brown, or lavender;

pollen yellow or brown;

style deciduous or base forming small apiculum, greenish yellow, 5–11 mm, swollen distally or ± terete;

stigma lobes erect or recurved, 1.5 mm.

Capsules

held erect or at least off ground at maturity, obovoid, 12–15 mm, apex rounded, truncate, or apiculate.

2n

= 48.

Erythronium americanum

Distribution
from USDA
e North America
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Erythronium americanum is a very common and widespread species, particularly in northeastern North America, becoming less frequent towards the southern and western limits of its range. Nonflowering plants far outnumber flowering ones in most populations because of their extensive stolon production. Plants with brown anthers have been called forma castaneum L. B. Smith.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Capsule apex rounded, truncate, or short-apiculate; stigma lobes erect, not grooved; widespread in ne United States
subsp. americanum
1. Capsule apex distinctly apiculate; stigma lobes recurved, grooved distally; n Alabama, Georgia, ne Mississippi, Tennessee
subsp. harperi
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 161.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Erythronium
Sibling taxa
E. albidum, E. californicum, E. citrinum, E. elegans, E. grandiflorum, E. helenae, E. hendersonii, E. klamathense, E. mesochoreum, E. montanum, E. multiscapideum, E. oregonum, E. pluriflorum, E. propullans, E. purpurascens, E. pusaterii, E. quinaultense, E. revolutum, E. rostratum, E. taylorii, E. tuolumnense, E. umbilicatum
Subordinate taxa
E. americanum subsp. americanum, E. americanum subsp. harperi
Name authority Ker Gawler: Bot. Mag. 28: plate 1113. (1808)
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