Erythronium americanum (common names: Adder Leaf)
Erythronium americanum (aka Adder Leaf)
About us
Grows on You is a friendly gardening community for all levels of experience - and it's free to join!
Looking for care tips for Erythronium americanum? Pose a question to our members?
Members growing this plant
-
Joined 12 Mar, 2008
260 plants
Comments on Erythronium americanum
14 Apr, 2008
I noticed that your leaves were solid green and thought that maybe they were something different. There is a solid green-leafed Trout Lily in my wildflower book but it has a white flower and is called Prairie Trout Lily. I wonder why yours are solid? Very strange. If you bought yours I wonder if they somehow lost their mottled leaves through cultivation.
On photo - Yellow Trout Lily
28 Jun, 2008
This is also a native perennial where I grew up in north central Ontario...we called it Adder Tongue or Dogtooth Violet. They bloomed in masses popping up through the leaf cover along with the trilliums and wild arbutus..
On photo - Yellow Trout Lily
Members' notes...
Trout lily is a native perennial found in dry deciduous woods. Also called Dogtooth Violet, Adder's Tongue, Fawn Lily, Yellow Trout Lily is a member of the Lily family, not a violet ("Dogtooth" refers to the tooth shape of its underground bulb-like corm.) The common name "Trout" comes from its mottled leaves which resemble the coloring of a Brown Trout. This wildflower reproduces mostly by underground bulb-like corms often forming huge colonies. It may take up to seven years for a plant to be mature enough to flower. This flower is nearly identical to White Trout Lily except for the color. Never attempt to dig this flower from the wild as its corms are very deep with a thin, fragile stem.
The leaves are edible to deer and also to human, and the roots as well as the leaves have many medicinal uses. WARNING: the use of the leaves may cause an allergic reaction.
I'm lucky to live near a large hillside covered with Trout Lily, and it's also in our back woods and in my yard.
Our A to Z of garden plants
Looking to buy plants? Compare prices and reviews across garden shops.




Joined 4 Mar, 2008
North Carolina
14 Apr, 2008
Yours are much prettier than mine...! Thefoliage on mine is solid green. Looks like I'll be placing some more bulb orders after all.!
On photo - Yellow Trout Lily