When I first moved here I did what I always do, travel around the less used roads to get a feeling for the area. This area is quite different from where I had moved from (greater Vancouver) and the pace is slower. It feels more like the area I grew up in, more rural and yet near a big city. Every season brings new things to learn about and experience that are different from anywhere I have been. One of the wonders are the delicate Lilies which grow along the roads and are in bloom right now. Here the Erythronium oregonum used to be called the Easter Lilly. Now we call them White Fawn or WhiteTrout Lillies.
Erythronium oreganum Known as the White Fawn Lily.
Children would pick arm loads of White Fawn Lillies and give them to their teachers because they they grew in such massive quantities. In some places they still grow thickly. Along Southgate Street which parallels Beacon Hill Park is a densely growing area of them which are readily seen as you walk or drive between Blanchard and Quadra Street. They are truly spectacular and many people who visit the area stop and ask what they are and then just have to take some pictures.
Erygonium oregonum along Southgate Street in Victoria.
We are truly blessed on the west coast of North America with having 23 of the 27 known species of Erythronium. They range from pure white to a strong yellow as well as pink and shades of these colors. Vancouver Island has 4 species; oregonum and montanum are white, revolutum is pink and grandiflorum represents the yellows. Erythronium oregonum is the most common around this area.
The Attractive Mottled Foliage of of the White Fawn Lily.
There are many things that make Erythronium oregonum a choice plant for anywhere it would grow, the delicate flowers which dangle down high above the foliage, the foliage itself with it’s lovely yet subtle green and maroon tones, and the delicate seedpods which blow in the wind and are the only sign later that this plant has been here at all. It is said that ‘John Burroughs’ named the species ‘Fawn Lily’ because he felt the leaves reminded him of the ears of a fawn. Most People think the name refers to the mottled leaves which is similar to the spotting and streaking on young fawns which help them to hide better from predators. I think the White Trout Lily name comes from similar reasons.
White Fawn Lillies Growing Along a Road in North Saanich.
Erythronium oregonum is definitely a connoisseur plant which we all dream about having in our garden, having said that, I know this is not an easy plant to grow. If you are lucky enough to have them already in your yard, you are indeed blessed. Last year I found one coming up in a area I had planted 10 years before, what a surprise. I already see it is blooming this year in the same spot. I truly hope it will spread itself and grow amongst the maroon colored Hellebores I have planted in the same area.
Southgate Erygonium oregonum Lily Field.
White Fawn Lillies are best grown in a site like which they come from. These are plants which grow in dappled sun, under deciduous trees. They need lots of moisture in their growing season which is in the first part of the year and then drier for the time that the seeds are ripening(if you want them) which is June and later. they are fairly tolerant of soil types as long as it’s not chalky and dry. They of course need rich soil which is well drained as these are very deeply rooted plants. It is best to acquire these plants form a reputable nursery which does not collect them from the wild.
The Delicate Highlights of Maroon and Yellow Seen in White Trout Lily Blossoms.
Many areas where Erythronium oregonum live are being bulldozed to make way for city and road growth, fortunately for us there have been many areas set aside for the protection of native species. We are also becoming more aware of the beauty in which we live in and more of us are respectful of the sites where these and other rare local plants live. Right now amongst the White Fawn Lillies you might find the delicate magenta Dodecatheon blooming and then very soon it will be the spectacular blue Camas which takes over.
Links to This Week’s Featured Plant:
A list of all the Erythroium which grow throughout the world and links to pages about them.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Erythronium
A little about growing Erythroniums and something about the meaning of the name.
http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/nativeplants/Erythronium_oregonum.html
Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. http://www.beaconhillpark.com/
Until We Meet Again Later This Week…..
Stumble It!
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
Click here for copyright permissions!
Beautiful ephemeral
I haven’t seen it (doesn’t mean it’s not here) and went to my field guide to find out that it just might be around. It’s range includes Southern Ontario so I’m hoping to find some here in northern (and I mean northern) NY. – just across the border.
The yellow Trout Lily grows all over the area but I’ve never seen it as thick as your photos of the white. I should update my post on the yellow – I mentioned they are easy to transplant – but forgot to say ‘dig deep’ (with landowners permission of course) or you’re likely to kill it.
This genus has quickly wrapped me around it’s wonderful stem…. I recently received an order of pink flowering species including: Japonica, Revolutum and Hendersonii from Thimble Farms in BC….. they are such wonderful plants. I envy you being able to witness them in such glorious drifts… white is so pristine. We have E. americanum – the yellow flowering one in our undusturbed woodlands. Great post!
Great information Jen. Sorry I missed the clues this week. (though I don’t think I would have guessed correctly!) Always look forward to learning from your postings.
Jen, stop by my blog, there is something for you.
Glad I found you! Saw the mention on Queen of Seaford and dropped by. You’re now on my international blog roll. Lovely photos and info you have here!
i have been following your posts for a while now all i can say
is they are great. I look forward to reading more from you.
There are gardens where erythroniums grow in the lawns. I make a point of driving by every spring to admire them. Unfortunately, some houses have been bought by new owners who start cutting their lawns too early, and the erythroniums have all died as their leaves have been cut before they could replenish the bulb for the next season.
There is one garden on Quadra Street where a compromise is in effect. Most of the large lawn is now cut early, but areas around the oak trees are left uncut till later. The erythroniums in the cut area all died, but the ones around the trees are still growing well.
Love them. As a child, myself and a friend use to ride our bikes down to Metchosin to see the lillies in the church cemetry. How great it was to go back some years later (not mentioning how many years and after living on the mainland for some years) and be able to see them still blooming. I also remember them around Beacon Hill Park. Hopefully development won’t entirely wipe out our precious native species.
I have always known these lilies (erythroniums) as wild Easter lilies. I love them. We live opposite Beacon Hill Park & love to photo them and see them spread every year. We have for years also driven out to the old Mechosin Anglican church to see the Easter lilies in the grounds.
I always tell my friends that they are wild Easter lilies. Now, I see that I am wrong, or is it wrong to call them Easter lilies?? It sounds that much more Spring like than white fawn or white trout lily.
My question is, why was the name of the wild lily changed and when? Or perhaps it always has been named the 3 names above. I am thoroughly confused. Even the Times Colonist printed a photo on the front page of their April 2, 2010 paper of “Daffodils and Easter lilies” in Beacon Hill Park. Then they retracted that name the following day and renamed them the proper names. Oh, for the old name of the humble wild Easter lily that we have known since childhood.
I would be interested in comments and answers please
No, it is not wrong to call them wild Easter lilies. That is the common name that has always been used here. If you look in a local book published in the 1950s, that is the name used. However, more recent books published in B.C. use what I guess are names that originated in the U.S.
There are many different common names, which is why it is less confusing to use the “Latin” name, but I see no reason to drop a local common name and replace it with a common name from somewhere else, just because it has been published in a book.
One public garden in Victoria has labels that use Indian Hyacinth as a name for Camas. Who knows where they found that? I hope visitors don’t think they should start using that name.
Thanks Diane,
I feel relieved that I don’t have to change their name & shall go on calling them wild Easter lilies.
Interesting to hear what you say about the Camas. We have a field in front of our place across from Beacon Hill where the Camas come out in May. I guess I will go on calling them Camas. I would think that the name Indian Hyacinth also comes from the US as we don’t use that name for our native people. Perhaps they will start calling them First Nations Hyacinths!! We are indeed a “peculiar” people with our language.
Thanks again