Trout lily

The first of the Trout Lilies has bloomed! Each spring, the forest floor is covered with them. Its leaves resemble a trout in a stream, and its blooms are dainty yellow nodding flowers. This wildflower is an ephemeral, which means after it blooms in early spring, it goes dormant until next spring. They are edible and, I hear, delicious for spring salads. They’re also used for many medicinal purposes. When the Victorians thought of them (they had a symbol for every flower), they thought o...

another native woodland ephemeral.

Trout Lily - Erythronium americanum - circa 1926

We’ve assembled a nice collection of US native trout lilies, but unfortunately they don’t adapt well to typical nursery production. We are experimenting with digging these spring ephemerals while they are in flower and shipping them at that time. Here is one that was a start this spring that hopefully we’ll be able to share

Wildflower (Liliaceae family) / March, Habersham Co., Georgia, USA / Copyright ©2015 by William Tanneberger - All Rights Reserved. Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) Rural Habersham Co., GA (Homewoods)

While doing some research on Addler’s Tongue, of which I was reading about in a book of Native American Plants & Medicine, I discovered that there is a difference, as well as, some simil…

White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) is a spring ephemeral that grows in rich floodplains. They rise from a deep bulb and can take up to seven years before a plant produces a flower. During this time the bulb is storing energy absorbed by its pair of leaves on the surface. The bulb also has a tendency to send out offshoots, enabling the plant to further colonize an area. The flowers are very phototropic, following the sun throughout the day before closing in the evening. Ants are major…

Yellow trout lily

A simple salad made of edible spring ephemerals. Here toothwort, Floerkia sprouts, spring beauty and trout lily are used. Serves 4-6 as a small side dish