Erythronium albidum
Family
Liliaceae
Common Name(s)
Trout lily
Flowering Time
April to May
Fruit/Seed Maturation Sign
Capsules droop and turn yellow; seeds rich brown color
Fruit/Seed Collection Dates
Mid to late May
Notes
Of 390 seeds planted in a central Iowa demographic study, 99 (44%) germinated. None of the individuals flowered, even after 18 years for one colony; this colony did reproduce vegetatively (Mabry, in prep), indicating it is best re-introduced with transplants (Mabry, in prep).
Ant dispersed spring ephemeral; seed output low; vegetative spread high (Barkely 1986, Gleason and Cronquist 1991).
Seed Cleaning
Sow immediately or keep capsules on a moist layer of sphagnum; separate seeds form capsule when capsule starts to disintegrate
Storage
Intolerant of dry storage (Cullina 2000)
Restoration Potential
Low