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Erythronium albidum mesochoreum

Common name:	Fawn Lily	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	(Kuerr.)Ricket.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:	Erythronium mesochoreum (Kuerr.)
Known Hazards:	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[65].
Range:	N. America - Iowa and Nebraska to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Habitat:	Woods, thickets and meadows[43, 90]. Prairies and dry woods in Texas[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	E. albidum var. coloratum[B,P] E. albidum var. mesochoreum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Midland Fawn-lily [B], Midland Fawnlily [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	albidum = whitish;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.05m. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Root.

Bulb - raw or cooked[105, 161]. Rather small, it is about 20mm long[235]. The bulbs are eaten avidly by children[257].
Young leaves - raw or cooked. Crisp, tasty, tender and mild when eaten raw[183]. Eating the leaves will greatly reduce the vigour of the bulb, so can only be recommended in times of emergency[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers slightly acid soil conditions but succeeds in chalky soils if these contain plenty of humus[164]. Requires semi-shade, preferably provided by trees or shrubs, and a well-drained soil[164]. Succeeds in almost any light soil, preferring one that is rich in humus[1].
This species is unsatisfactory in cultivation outdoors in Britain. It comes into growth early in the year and the flowers probably need more heat than our typical spring provides if they are to open properly[90].
Flowers are produced in 3 - 4 years from seed[164].
This species does not produce offsets[200].

Propagation

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[164, 200]. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification[164]. 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[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Erythronium mesochoreum (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Liliaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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