Countdown to Spring: Trout Lily

Only thirty days until spring arrives and anticipation is building for the blooms to come. The trout lily (Erythronium americanum), an ephemeral Ontario wildflower, will be among the earliest bloomers of the season.

Trout lily in Flamborough, Ontario

You'll find trout lily colonies growing in moist woodlands where they carpet forest floors with their mottled foliage and bright yellow, nodding flowers.

The inspiration for the plant's common name comes from its fleshy, grey-purple speckled leaves. Their appearance is said to resemble the markings of a brook trout or a brown trout.  If you see a single leaf, you're looking at a young plant. Only more mature plants will produce two leaves and a flower. The flared petals, which curl back to the stem with time, are striking, but it's the far more prolific and distinctive foliage that always catches my eye. 

Trout lilies are also know as yellow dogtooth violets because their bulbs look like a dog's canine tooth.

Trout lilies will take advantage of unobstructed springtime sunshine. They bloom while the trees are still bare and just coming into leaf. Keep an eye out for trout lilies in Toronto ravines and woodland settings across the province. It won't be long now.