VYEMEOW TEROUTLILY 
Erythronium americanum Ker 
Yellow troutlily is one of our early spring flowers, making its ap- 
peatance at the same time as bloodroot and toothwort. The lush 
leaves are as fresh and lovely as the blossoms. These almost close at 
night, and open only sluggishly in daylight, failing to revive when 
picked. The shady meadows bordering streams are their favored hab- 
itat, and here mats of the leaves, sometimes actes in extent, often 
closely carpet the ground. Only a few individuals bear flowers, how- 
ever, for like many other wild flowers several years are necessary for 
its bulbs to mature. The troutlilies belong to the Lily Family, and the 
apptoved common name, which was coined by the famous naturalist, 
John Burroughs, emphasizes this fact. The name used in some books, 
dogtooth violet, is highly inappropriate, for the flower does not bear 
the slightest resemblance to a violet. 
Yellow troutlily has a wide range, from Florida to Arkansas, and 
north to Minnesota, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. 
The specimens sketched grew near Washington, District of Colum- 
bia. 
PLATE 339 
