Dimpled Trout Lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum)

Walking in our woods this time of year requires tip toeing through the leaf litter so as not to step on the many dimpled trout lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum) that have emerged. These spring ephemerals are early bloomers in the Piedmont beginning in mid-February when it can still be cold and the weather unpredictable. 

We have vast colonies of these beauties especially along the creek where they thrive in the moist layers of leaf litter in our woodland habitat. 

The mottled green and brown leaves are reminiscent of trout moving through the water giving them their common name, but also help camouflage the plant from browsing wildlife. Young plants typically have one leaf whereas the flowering plants always have two.

It takes about seven years for a trout lily to flower as it takes time to build the energy in the corm to sustain the leaves and blooms. 

The blossoms close each night and re-open in the morning as the temperature rises. Each 'petal' is a combination sepal and petal (tepals) that curls back as they open exposing six stamens. 

The flower is perfect (having both male and female structures) and the tepals help protect the reproductive parts of the flower from rain, like an umbrella, or crawling insects from robbing the nectar.

Trout lilies have a special relationship with bees and ants

Our native bumblebee queens emerge early in spring to establish a new colony at a time when few flowers are in bloom. She needs nectar for energy to forage and collect pollen to feed the baby bumblebees and the trout lily is the perfect partner. 

Trout lily bees are another visitor to this spring harbinger. A species of miner bee, they will take up to half the available pollen on a single visit. This limits cross-pollination so the trout lilly only open half their anthers at a time thus increasing the chances of cross-pollination to occur. (source: South Carolina Botanical Garden)

Once pollinated, the seeds of the trout lily are dispersed and planted by ants. The worker ants are attracted to the nutrient dense coating of the seeds (elaiosomes) and spread them in the process of eating them. 

Trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) are a good native alternative to daffodils, blooming at the same time, both with yellow blooms and requiring minimal care. What makes trout lilies special is that they have a important role in their native ecosystem. Trout lilies do not transplant well and should be left alone in the wild. If you desire to add them to your garden purchase corms from a native plant retailer.