Perhaps the most elegant of the spring-flowering bulbs are the trout lily, fawn lily, glacier lily or
dog's-tooth violet, also known as Erythronium. The flowers of most are nodding, with reflexed petals,
looking decidedly like turk's-cap lilies. The flowers may be solitary or several per stem, varying in
height from a few centimetres to about 30 cm. Floral colours vary from white to yellow and pink
shades. The leaves are smooth, broad or narrow and held close to the ground. They may be solitary or
produced in a cluster. Many are attractively mottled with maroon spots and blotches.

These lily relatives hail primarily from North America with just a single species being found in
Europe and two species in Asia. The name comes from erythros, Latin for red, referring to the
reddish-pink flower colour of the European species E. dens-canis. In this example, the species
epithet dens-canis means dog-tooth, referring to the shape of the bulb. The North American common
names trout or fawn lily refers to the mottled foliage of many of the species. Glacier lily refers
primarily to the high alpine species that bloom just as the snows melt.
~ http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/949/

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