LILY FAMILY. Liliacese. 



A small, lilylike flower distinguished 

 orYeltow Ad-* for its brown-purple-tinged (outside) gold 

 der's Tongue yellow color ; sometimes the purple tinge 

 Erythronium is wanting in the flower, but the two leaves 

 Amencanum are a i mos t always strongly mottled with 

 Dull gold yel- .. « „. .. , . . 



I it; these are elliptical, pointed, nearly 



April-May stemless, and proceed from the root. The 

 flower is perfect, with six stamens and a 

 pistil, and it is especially adapted to long-tongued in- 

 sects ; it is undoubtedly cross-fertilized by the early 

 bees, chief among which are the queen bumblebees 

 (Bombus pennsylvanicus) whom I have often observed 

 enter the flower-bell and issue plentifully besprinkled 

 with pollen. Other occasional visitors are the small 

 butterflies Colias pliilodice — yellow, and Pieris rapce — 

 ♦vhite. It is probable, too, that many species of flies are 

 attracted to this plant on account of its mottled color ; 

 but the majority of flies are poor pollen disseminators. 

 The name, Greek, for red, in allusion to the European 

 species which is purple-red. The little plant, 5-10 

 inches high, is common in moist woods and beside 

 brooks in swampy places, from Me., south, and west to 

 Minn. Found in Campton, N. H. 



A very similar species with narrower 

 White Adder's ' , , . *. , 



Tongue leaves mottled less distinctly or not at all, 



Erythronium smooth, thick, and whitish green. The 

 albidum flowers are white, or dull, pale violet- 



White or violet- t i nge( i outside, and yellow-tinged at the 



« ' t. M heart, inside ; the six divisions of the 



March-May ' 



flower-cup strongly recurved. As the white 

 stigma in Erythronium matures in advance of the 

 golden anthers, it is, generally speaking, cross-fertilized; 

 its most frequent visitor is the bumblebee (Bombus rir- 

 ginicus). 5-8 inches high. Common only in the west 

 and south. N. J., south to Ga., and west to Minn. 

 Found near Carlinville, southern 111. (Prof. Robertson). 



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