548 ERYTHROCH^TE 



EEYTHROCHaiTE, or ERYTHROCH^TON. See 



Seitecio Joponicns. 



ERYTHRONITJM (from the Greek M-ord for red). 

 LilidcecB. Dog's-tooth Violet. Adder's Tonoue. 

 Handsome plants of the north temperate zone, tour 

 belong to the Old World, four to eastern N. America, 

 one is found in the Rocky mountains, while m the cool 

 woods and high mountains from northern California to 

 the British possessions the genus is represented by 

 nine species and a number of well marked varieties. 

 Erythroniums have bulbs standing erect and from ob- 

 long to linear in form, two radical leaves, which in most 

 species are handsomely mottled : scape slender and 

 leafless, producing from one to many flowers. The peri- 

 anth consists of six similar divisions, usually recurved, 

 six stamens and a single 3-lobed style. The species 

 are confused and are much in need of revision. See 



779. Erythronium 



Americanum iX%). 



Watson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sei. I4::2(J0 ; 22:479. 

 Baker, Journ. Linn. Soc. 14:2%. Weathers, U.C. III. 

 20::^61. 



The Erythroniums are most interesting spring flow- 

 ers. They succeed in any light soil, particularly in par- 

 tial shade. In common with all herbaceous perennials, 

 especially those whitdi produce bulbs or corms, they 

 profit by a winter mulch of leaves or litter. The west- 

 ern Erythroniums are all plants of the cool woodlands, 

 except a few which grow at such altitudes as to reach 

 like conditions. They thrive best in shade, a thoroughly 

 drained soil, moist and rich in mold, a surface cover- 

 ing of half rotten leaves tending to equalize condi- 

 tions. Any good fibrous material, as fibrous peat, cocoa- 

 nut fiber or spent tan bark, or even well rotted sod, will 

 answer the purpose to lighten the soil and give that 

 abundance of mold they delight in. Pockets in shaded 

 rockwork give ideal situations. They will thrive nat- 

 uralized on cool, wooded slopes, and where the drainage 

 is good will thrive in grass. The leaves ripen before 

 the grass is cut and the effect is very fine. Simply 

 planted in boxes in a loose soil, rich in mold, and left 

 year after year in a shaded spot, they sometimes give 

 splendid bloom. L\ /Tdrttcegli flowers v<u'y early, iind 

 stands more heat and dryness than any otlirr varielv. 

 J^. purpurascens }uh\ J^J, moH/aHn?;;, from high altitxides, 

 tend to throw up their growth very late, and are on that 

 account rather ditTicult to cult. J^. {/randiflorifni flowers 

 very early, and iiuist be given a cool situation and be 



ERYTHRONIUM 



kept back, to secure any length of stalk. All of the other 

 western species are very satisfactory garden plants. 

 The propagation of E. Dens-Vanis and varieties, the 

 eastern American species and E. Marhvegii, is by 

 offsets. All of the other western species can be in- 

 creased only by seeds. The eastern species should be 

 planted at least 5 in. deep. 



A. 7^/.s'. always soUianj, and without a crest near 

 Ji<i.'<e of inner petals: leaves handsomely mot- 

 tled: offsets feH'. — Old World species. 



DenB-Canis, Linn. The European species : in the 

 type ris. are rosy purple or lilac : stem 4-6 in. high. 

 Variations are white, rose-colored or flesh-colored. Var. 

 longlf6lium, Hort., varies in its narrower leaves and 

 larger flowers. Var. Siblricum, Hort., from the Altai 

 Mts., is taller. — Little known in Amer. gardens. 



AA. Fl. solitary, unthout a crest on inner petals: pro-^ 

 ducing o^/s^'^.s. — Eastern American species. 



AmericS-num, Smith. Common Adder's Tongue. Fig. 

 779. LvK. mottled: fls. yellow; the segments recurved: 

 bulb with long offshoots. Eastern U. S. and Canada, 

 to Fla. and Ark. Runs into many forms. The follow- 

 ing names belong w^ith it: E. hmceoldtum, Pursh ; 

 E. angustdtum, Raf . ; E. bractetitiini, Boott. 



dlbidum, Nutt. Lvs. not mottled, narrow: fls. white, 

 yellow at base ; segments recurved. Ont. and N. Y. to 

 Tex. 



mesachdreum, Knerr. Lvs. not mottled: fls. lavender, 

 the segments not recurved: earlier than the last. Iowh 

 to Kansas. 



propuUans, Gray. Lvs. small, green or slightly mot- 

 tled : fls. rose-colored, with yellow base : offsets pro- 

 duced from the stem sheath. Southern Ontario and 

 Minnesota. 



AAA. Fls. 3-4, sometimes more {rarely only l-fld.).— 

 West American species. The lvs. are richly 

 mottled, except in E. grandiflorum. The 

 corms do not produce offsets, except in E. 

 Hartiveqii. Inner petals with auricles except 

 in E. HowelUi. All except E. purpurascens 

 have large and showy fls. 



B. Style 3-cleft. 



gTandifldrum , Pursh {E. glganteum, Lindl.). Lvs. 

 unmottled : stem slender, l-.5-fld. : fls. very bright yel- 

 low; petals recurved; anthers yellow. 



Var. Album, Hort. [E. moutdnum, Hort.). Like the 

 type, except the fls. are white, yellowish at center, and 

 with a slight greenish cast. 



Var. minor, Morren, is smaller. 



Nuttalli&num, Schult. Like E. grandiflorum, and per- 

 haps a variety of it, but has red anthers. 



HArtwegii, Wats. Bulb-bearing offsets: lvs. mottled: 

 fls. 1-0, mostly in a sessile umbel, large, light yellow- 

 orange at center. Foothills of the Sierra Nevada 

 mountains in California. G.C. HI. 20:361. 



revolutum, Smith. Lvs. 1-4, mottled in white ami 

 light brown: fls. nearly always 1 or 2; petals narrow 

 and curved; style large and stout; filaments from subii 

 late (awl-shaped) to deltoid, opening from white flushed 

 with pink to pinkish purple, becoming purple. J.H- 

 III. :i5:.52.3. 



Var. BolAnderii, Hort. {E. grandifldrum, var. Smithii. 

 Hook.). Differing from the type in having white fls.. 

 tardily becoming purple, and in being smaller. 



Var. J61insoni, Pur<Iy (E. Johnsoni, Bolander). Very 

 similar to the type, but lvs. mottled in dark brown ami 

 looking as if coated in varnish, and fls. dark rose with 

 orange center. Gn. 51:1100. G.C. III. 19:549; 25:253. 



Var. praecox, Pnrdy. Lvs. mottled in mahogany, the 

 most bcnutifuUy in any Erythronium: the fls., usual!) 

 2-4, are creamy white with orange center. 



Var. Wdtsoni, Pnrdy. Differs in having a full,cream\ 

 white fl., orange at center, and usually banded witli 

 brown above the base; in foggy weather the fl. is bell 

 shaped: lvs. mottled in brown. — One of the finest of 

 Ervthroniums. 



