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 () "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.
Erythronium includes about 20–30 species of hardy spring-flowering perennial plants with long, tooth-like bulbs. Slender stems carry pendent flowers with recurved tepals in shades of cream, yellow, pink and mauve. Species are native to forests and meadows in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Image Species Common name Distribution 120px Erythronium albidum Nutt. small white fawn-lily, white fawn-lily, white trout-lily, tooth-lily Ontario, east-central United States (MN to CT south to TX, AL) 120px Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl. trout-lily, yellow trout-lily, yellow adder's-tongue, yellow dogtooth violet Eastern Canada (Ontario to Labrador), Eastern United States (ME to GA, West to Mississippi River) 120px Erythronium californicum Purdy California fawn-lily Northern California 120px Erythronium caucasicum Woronow Caucasian dog's tooth violet Caucasus, Iran 120px Erythronium citrinum S. Wats. cream fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California 120px Erythronium dens-canis L. dog's-tooth violet Southern, Central Europe from Portugal to Ukraine Erythronium elegans Hammond & Chambers Coast Range fawn-lily Oregon 120px Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh dogtooth lily, glacier lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lily western Canada, western United States 120px Erythronium helenae Applegate Pacific fawn-lily California (Sonoma, Napa, Lake Cos.) 120px Erythronium hendersonii S. Wats. Henderson's fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California Erythronium howellii S. Wats. Howell's fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California Erythronium idahoense H.St.John & G.N.Jones - Idaho fawn-lily Montana, Idaho, Washington state 120px Erythronium japonicum Decne. katakuri Japan, Korea, Russia (Kuril Islands, Sakhalin), China (Jilin, Liaoning) 120px Erythronium klamathense Applegate Klamath fawn-lily Oregon, Northern California Erythronium krylovii Stepanov Tuvan trout-lily Russia (Tuva, Krasnoyarsk) 120px Erythronium mesochoreum Knerr midland fawn-lily, white fawn-lily Central United States (TX to NE, IN) 120px Erythronium montanum S. Wats. avalanche lily, white avalanche-lily BC, Washington state, Oregon 120px Erythronium multiscapideum (Kellogg) A. Nels. & Kennedy Sierra fawn-lily California 120px Erythronium oregonum Applegate giant white fawn-lily BC, Washington, California, Oregon Erythronium pluriflorum Shevock, Bartel & G.A.Allen manyflower fawn-lily Madera Co in California 120px Erythronium propullans Gray dwarf trout-lily Minnesota 120px Erythronium purpurascens S. Wats. purple fawn-lily California 120px Erythronium pusaterii (Munz & J.T. Howell) Shevock, Bartel & G.A.Allen Kaweah Lakes fawn-lily Tulare Co in California Erythronium quinaultense G.A.Allen Olympic fawn-lily Olympic Peninsula in Washington state 120px Erythronium revolutum Sm. mahogany fawn-lily BC, Washington state, Oregon, California 120px Erythronium rostratum W.Wolf yellow trout-lily south-central United States 120px Erythronium sajanense Stepanov & Stassova Krasnoyarsk in Russia 120px Erythronium sibiricum (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Krylov Siberian fawn-lily Siberia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia 120px Erythronium sulevii (Rukšans) Stepanov Altay Krai in Russia 120px Erythronium taylorii Shevock & G.A.Allen Taylor's fawn-lily Tuolumne Co California 120px Erythronium tuolumnense Applegate Tuolumne fawn-lily Tuolumne Co in California 120px Erythronium umbilicatum Parks & Hardin dimpled trout-lily southeastern United States (Florida to Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland) Formerly included Two species names were coined using the name Erythronium but have since been reclassified to other taxa. Erythronium carolinianum, now called Uvularia perfoliata Erythronium hyacinthoides, now called Drimia indica
Erythroniums are widely grown as ornamental plants, with numerous hybrids and cultivars having been selected for garden use. Popular cultivars include Erythronium 'Pagoda', E. 'Sundisc', E. 'Joanna', E. 'Kondo', E. 'Citronella', E. californicum 'White Beauty', and E. 'Rosalind'. Propagation is best by seed in autumn or by division of bulbs, depending on species. Some species propagate vegetatively. The plant is also great as a ground cover, as it will spread over several years. The following cultivars, of mixed ancestry, have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: 'Apple Blossom' (white with yellow centre) 'Janice' (pink) 'Joanna' (cream/pale yellow throat) 'Pagoda' (cream yellow) 'Sundisc' (yellow) 'Wildside Seedling' (white/yellow) The bulb is edible as a root vegetable, cooked or dried, and can be ground into flour. The leaves can also be cooked as a leaf vegetable. In Japan, Erythronium japonicum is called katakuri, and the bulb is processed to produce starch, which is used for food and other purposes.