Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_0306.JPG-05-07-2017
Flower name (scientific): Erythronium albidum Nuttall PY: 1818. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) er-ih-THROH-nee-um AL-bih-dum
Flower name (common): White Trout Lily
Family name (common): Lily
Family name (scientific): Liliaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: From the Greek erythros, for red, the flower color for some species.
    Specific epithet: From the Latin for white.
Common name origin: From the flower color, the distinctive brown mottling that is commonly found on the leaves, which supposedly resembles the patterns on certain trout, and its general appearance to a lily.
Flower description:
     Size: 1.3 to 1.6 inches (3.3 to 4.1 cm)
     Petal count: 6
     Color: White
     Other: flower arrangement, Solitary
Plant description: Erect
     Size: 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm)
     Stem hairy: glabrous
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is basal, type is simple
     Size: Leaves up to about 20 cm long and about 5 cm wide.
     Color: mottled with brown foliage
     Hairy: glabrous
     Other: Shape: leaf, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic (FNA)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Commom
Bloom time (typical): April to May
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Woodlands, forests, shade or part shade, moist.
Fruit: capsule about 1 to 2.5 cm in length.
Seed:
Importance to wildlife: Click for pollinator information on this flower.
Similar species (if any): Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout Lily) is similar, but is distinguished by its yellow flowers. Erythronium mesochoreum (Prairie Trout-lily) is also similar, but this species has not been reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, but is present in the neighboring states of Illinois and Iowa and further south. The leaves of E. mesochoreum commonly do not have the brown mottling that is a common characteristic for E. albidum. Erythronium propullans (Minnesota Dwarf Trout-lily) has some similarity, but this is a very rare species found only in a few counties in the south eastern corner of Minnesota, and nowhere else in the US.
Ethnobotany:
Latitude: 44.798347
Longitude: -91.515172
Altitude: 227.50
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Ashland, Bayfield, Brown, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Sauk, Sheboygan, Taylor, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Winnebago, Wood) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, DC, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (ON) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s): na
Heterotypic Synonym(s): POWO lists 1 heterotypic synonym for this species.
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): FACU
Wetland Status (MW): FACU