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Erythronium grandiflorum

Erythronium grandiflorum: Flower
Photo by Derrick Ditchburn. High resolution version

Common name:	Avalanche Lily	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	Pursh.	Botanical references:	60, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Skin contact with the bulbs has been known to cause dermatitis in sensitive people[65].
Range:	Western N. America - British Columbia to California, east to Alberta, Wyoming and Colorado.
Habitat:	Sagebrush, open woodland and grassy mountain slopes, sometimes to the tree line[42, 90]. Rich moist soil along the banks of streams, shaded woods and sub-alpine meadows, often in large patches[212].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	E. grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum[B,C,P] E. grandiflorum var. pallidum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dogtooth Lily [P], Glacier Lily [FEIS], Yellow Avalanche Lily [S], Yellow Avalanche-lily [B], Yellow Avalanchelily [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	florum = flowered; grandiflorum = large flowered;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Amerindian); Us(Blackfoot)

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.15m by 0.08m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in 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 1/5 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 dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root; Seedpod.

Bulb - raw or cooked[2, 46, 85, 105, 257]. The bulbs are usually harvested in the spring as the first leaves appear above ground, they can be stored for some months in a cool place[256]. The raw bulb has a slightly bitter milky taste, the texture is cool and moist inside and so the North American Indians liked eating them on hot days[256]. The cooked bulb has a more starchy texture and a sweet flavour[256, 257]. Stored bulbs develop a sweeter flavour when cooked than fresh bulbs[257]. The Indians always drank water after eating the bulbs because they believed that otherwise they would get sick[256]. Large quantities can have an emetic effect[85]. The bulbs can also be dried for later use[207].
Leaves - raw or cooked[85, 106]. Eating the leaves will greatly reduce the vigour of the bulb, so can only be recommended in times of emergency[K].
Young seedpods - raw or cooked[106, 212]. The cooked pods taste like French beans[212].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Skin.

The pulverized root was applied to boils and as a wet dressing on skin sores[213, 257].

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[42, 164]. Succeeds in almost any light soil, preferring one that is rich in humus[1]. Not an easy species to grow in Britain, it prefers a well-drained soil that is wet in spring but rather dry in the summer[90]. Plants are best given perfect drainage[200].
Offsets are freely produced if the plant is growing well[1].
Flowers are produced in 3 - 4 years from seed[164].
Bulbs should be planted about 7cm deep[1].

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 of the bulbs in the summer as the leaves die down[1]. Larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up smaller bulbs and grow them on in a shady position in a greenhouse for a year before planting them out when dormant in late summer.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum (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]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[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.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[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.

[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.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.

[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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