Trout Lily, Dogtooth violet
Erythronium americanum
Family: Liliaceae
What it is like
Erythronium americanum is a BULB growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.1 m (0ft 4in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.2
Where it is found
Meadows and rich damp open woodland.
Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Florida, west to Ontario and Arkansas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 4
Bulb - raw or cooked. A crisp, chewy and very pleasant taste. The bulb is up to 25mm long and is buried quite deeply in the soil. Leaves - raw or cooked. Added to salads. Eating the leaves will greatly reduce the vigour of the bulb, so can only be recommended in times of emergency. Flowers, flower buds and flower stems - raw or cooked.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 1
All parts of the plant, but especially the bulb and the fresh leaves, are strongly emetic and are not used internally. The fresh leaves are also antiscrofulatic and emollient and are used as an infusion or stimulating poultice applied to swellings, tumours and scrofulous ulcers. The juice from crushed leaves has been applied to wounds that are not healing. A poultice of the crushed bulbs has been applied to swellings and to help remove splinters. The raw plant, excluding the roots, has been used by native North American young girls to prevent conception.
Antiscrophulatic: Counteracts scrofula. (TB, especially of the lymph glands)
Contraceptive: Prevents fertilization occurring in females.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Emollient: Softens the skin, causing warmth and moisture.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Other
Rating: 3
Plants spread freely by means of underground stems and make a delightful ground cover in dappled shade. The plants are only in growth from late winter to late spring so the ground cover effect is ephemeral.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
How it is grown
Prefers slightly acid soil conditions but succeeds in chalky soils if these contain plenty of humus. Requires semi-shade, preferably provided by trees or shrubs, and a well-drained soil. Succeeds in almost any light soil, preferring one that is rich in humus. Nonflowering plants far outnumber flowering ones in most populations because of their extensive stolon production. This species does not flower very freely, increasing mainly by its stoloniferous habit. The flowers only open in warm sun. When established in woodland, this species can spread very freely by means of underground roots. Flowers are produced in 3 - 4 years from seed. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 9 through 2. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread. Ephemeral emerging in spring and dying back by summer every year . The root pattern is stoloniferous rooting from creeping stems above the ground. The root pattern is a corm swelling at the stem base.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame. Water lightly in summer, it should germinate in autumn or winter. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification. Sow as early in spring as possible in a cold frame. Sow the seed thinly so that it will not be necessary to prick them out for their first year of growth. Give an occasional liquid feed to the seedlings to make sure that they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants are dormant, pot up the small bulbs putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in a shady position in the greenhouse for another 2 3 years and then plant them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in late summer. Division in summer as the leaves die down. This species does not produce offsets.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Ground Cover; Lawn;
Habit: Bulb
Hardiness: 3-7
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Semi-shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, the following notes have been seen for another member of this genus and so some caution is advised. Skin contact with the bulbs has been known to cause dermatitis in sensitive people.