YELLOW ADDER'S TONGUE i Fawn Lily) 



Erythronium americanum Kcr 



Early spring In Illinois oak woods, the white trout lilies bloom early 

 Woods in spring; they are part of the accepted picture ol" 



spiinatiine in this ])art of the middle west. The woods 

 would be stran<ivly laikiii,!:- in a special (jiiality and Uavor if none appeared 

 before April was over. And these are all w liite. 



There are certain rare spots in Illinois, notably in the northern part 

 and here and there in woods further south, where the yellow adders 

 ton«;juc sprin<is up and blossoms witli bright yellow lilies. In the eastern 

 states the yellow kind is the connnon species; one exjiects aai adder's 

 tongue in New England to be yellow: a white one would be strange to 

 see. But in Illinois the reverse is true. 



Six-]>arted, as the other is. the yellow adder's tongue has a purple- 

 tinged throat and })rotruding stamens and i)istil. There is one ilower on 

 the slender smooth steni which springs abruptly from a pair of mottled 

 green leaves. In the yellow species, the leaves usually are broad, glossier, 

 a brighter green with sharpcM- pur]>le mottlings than are found in the 

 white. 



Both trout lilies require a long period of growth before they l)loom. 

 It t-;ikes a seed seven years, usually, to reach blossoming size — seven years 

 while the bulb grows deeixn* and each year sends up a single leaf. In the 

 sixth year there are two leaves, and in the seventh springtime there come 

 two leaves with a flower bud between them, and the trout lily finally 

 blooms. 



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