Trout Lily

 Trout Lily In Bloom and a Trillium about to open.

Erythronium americanum Ker Gawl. Yellow Trout-lily, American Trout-lily, Eastern Trout-lily, Yellow Dogtooth Violet, Adder's Tongue. Liliaceae (Lily Family), Recognized by its brown-mottled leaves, this is one of our most common spring wildflowers, found in sizable colonies. The name Trout Lily refers to the similarity between the leaf markings and those of the brown or brook trout. The flower blooms in early spring. The solitary, yellow, nodding flower has six petals. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). Trout Lily is both medicinal and edible. The leaves have a very mild flavour and the flowers have a slight sweetness due to their nectar and are also slightly acrid. The corms are edible as well and have a cucumber-like taste. Trout lilies are an emetic (makes you throw up), therefore it is recommended not to eat mass quantities of these in one day. You can add this plant to a salad or eat them as a trail snack. You can also make a tea with the flower, leaves or corm (or all). Corms can be roasted. Please forage responsibly.

You will find this flower in sizable colonies with plants bearing a single, nodding, yellow flower. Non-flowering plants also occur which are either too young or too crowded to flower. Flowers are critical sources of pollen and nectar for early-season pollinators. Just like bloodroot, trout lily seeds are dispersed by ants. 

Trout Lily & It's Shadow

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