White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)

## White Trout Lily

Native Plant Card to attract and educate beginners

**White Trout Lily *(Erythronium albidum)***, also known as the white fawn lily, is a North American wildflower celebrated for its delicate beauty. This perennial plant graces woodland floors with its nodding, white, lily-like flowers and distinctive mottled leaves. Preferring shaded habitats, White Trout Lily emerges in early spring, creating a carpet of enchanting blooms that herald the arrival of the season.

The plant's name is derived from its leaves, resembling the spots on a brook trout. As a spring ephemeral, *Erythronium albidum* goes dormant by the end of the season, making it's appearance even more of a statement and a bittersweet loss as it fades until the following year.

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.

## Benefits

### Uses

Aesthetics, Spring Pollinator Food, Edible Uses, Indigenous Use, Medicinal Uses

### Other Important Animal Links

Deer consume the leaves

Trout Lilies offer pollinators a much needed meal during a time when less is available. It can even affect the forest around it. The Vernal Dam Hypothesis shows that spring wildflowers like Trout Lily actually serve as nutrient pools for the entire forest. Without plants like Trout Lily, spring rains would saturate the soil, where it would then run off into local waterways, taking with it valuable nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Because Trout Lilies grow well at low soil temperatures, they actually take up nutrients that would otherwise be lost during this time. When the warmer summer weather hits and the leaves die back, they then release a lot of nutrients back into soil where vigorously growing plants are ready to take it up.

## Sowing and Reproduction

Flowers are bisexual. There is no gender requirement to grow *Erythronium albidum.* It takes 4-5 years to flower from seed.

**Method**

Seeds should be sown just under the surface of the soil.

If working with corms they should be planted in the fall 2-3” deep and 4-5” apart. Fawnlilies do not transplant well and should be left alone in the wild

## Cold Stratification

Yes. While Prairie Moon claims this plant has a Double Dormancy and needs multiple cold and warm cycles  several other sources differ.  According to Wild Plants From Seed White Trout Lily needs only a standard cold treatment to germinate when it's warm.

## Harvesting

Seed Capsules should be collected when yellow or light brown and manually broken open. The seeds should be washed to remove any fleshy material and then left briefly to surface dry. However they should not be allowed to dry out fully.

Seed Capsules should be read around 6-8 weeks after flowering. Some people mark the spot where the plant is as the withered leaves can make it hard to see.

## Storage

Seeds should never be allowed to fully dry out and will lose viability quickly. They must be sown fresh or stored moist in the fridge until sowing takes place.

## Toxicity

Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, in other members of this genus skin contact with bulbs has caused dermatitis in some people.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wikipedia
2. ↑ Wild Plants From Seed
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Prairie Moon Nursery
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ferri Seeds
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wild Plants From Seed
6. ↑ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre Plant Database
7. ↑ Wild Plants From Seed
8. ↑ PFAF