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| Erythronium
grandiflorum (Glacier Lily, Dogtooth Violet) Liliaceae (Lily Family) Montane, subalpine. Openings, meadows.
Spring. Not long after snow melt, Glacier Lilies are found in large showy colonies or scattered through open woods and meadows. Their distinctive bright yellow reflexed tepals are eye-catching and poetic. "Erythro" is Greek for "red" and may refer to the color of some species (not in our area) or to the more often found red anthers. Meriwether Lewis collected the first specimen of this plant in present-day Idaho along the Lolo Trail near the Clearwater River June 15, 1806. Frederick Pursh named this species in 1814. |
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Erythronium
grandiflorum (Glacier Lily, Dogtooth Violet) Montane, subalpine. Openings, meadows.
Spring.
A single bud emerges from the center of upright leaves;
tepals
soon
unfold
and
begin
to curl;
flowers
stay
vibrant
for
a number
of days
as
fertilization
takes
place;
and then seeds enlarge.
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We expect to find Glacier Lilies at the edge of snow banks in a subalpine or alpine setting (as in the photograph immediately above from the Horse Gulch Trail, June 7, 2004), but it comes as a surprise to most of us that Glacier Lilies do equally well at 8,000 feet in Oak and Ponderosa woods. In the western San Juan National Forest in early May, crowds of Glacier Lilies surround the base of islands of Gambel's Oak and Ponderosa Pines. |
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Range map © John Kartesz,
County Color Key
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Range map for Erythronium grandiflorum |
Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state
Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Eradicated
Questionable presence