Erythronium 2024

[Claire Cockcroft]

Erythronium albidum.  The clump was very large and then almost disappeared last year.  I was happy to see some remained after what likely was a rodent attack.

[Claire Cockcroft]

Erythronium americanum.  Contrary to its reputation, this one blooms heavily every year and has been spreading.  Originally from Charlie Kelley.

[Herman Mylemans]

Erythronium americanum.  Contrary to its reputation, this one blooms heavily every year and has been spreading.  Originally from Charlie Kelley.

Claire, indeed a bad reputation. He hasn't flowered here yet.
Trillium albidum has flowered, but the weather was not good.
Other Erythroniums at the moment in flower:
Erythronium californicum

[Herman Mylemans]

Erythronium citrinum

Erythronium multiscapoideum var. cliftonii

Erythronium oregonum

[Herman Mylemans]

Erythronium tuolumnense

Erythronium hendersonii

[Herman Mylemans]

Erythronium dens-canis 'White Splendour'

[Claire Cockcroft]

Yours are ahead of most of mine!  Nice pictures.
...Claire

[Robert]

I thought that some of the Forumists might enjoy some background information regarding the ‘Cliftonii’ form of Erythronium multiscapideum.

My guess is most, if not all, Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ in Europe are derived from genetic material collected at the Pulga Bridge site on the North Fork of the Feather River in Butte County, California. Wayne Roderick was responsible for introducing the Pulga Bridge population to a number of botanists and other well-respected plant people.

The ‘Cliftonii’ form of Erythronium multiscapideum might also be considered an ecotype. Based on my field studies of Erythronium multiscapideum, it appears that the elements of the basic ‘Cliftonii’ genotype exist throughout the complete population of this species in California: The Pulga Bridge site is not the only location where this ecotype can be found. There are other populations located at some distance, but still in the general vicinity, to the Pulga Bridge site where this ecotype is found. In addition, ‘Cliftonii’ type plants occasionally appear in populations far removed from the Pulga Bridge site. These wayward plants are frequently misidentified as another species of Erythronium or a new species. Plotting the populations of ‘Cliftonii’ type plants could take the appearance of a histogram with outlier individuals far removed from the central core population sites in Butte County.  Environmental factors may also partly account for some facets of the ‘Cliftonii’ phenotype. To date, all the populations of Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ that I am aware of are found on serpentine based soils, including the wayward individual plants.

When wild populations of Erythronium multiscapideum are examined carefully, it becomes apparent that the species expresses diverse sets of many phenotypes, some of which may be of significant horticultural value. In addition, there is some evidence that high elevation forms of Erythronium multiscapideum in its northern range may have hybridized with Erythronium purpurescens sometime in the distant past and have now formed stable populations. It is all very fascinating. A great deal of additional research needs to be done.

[Herman Mylemans]

Thank you Robert! It is always interesting to know more about the history of a plant.

[Robert]

Thank you Robert! It is always interesting to know more about the history of a plant.

Herman

I appreciate that you posted photographs of a number of Western North American Erythronium species from your garden. They certainly are well grown and seem very well adjusted to your climatic/garden environment. I often wonder how these species respond under variable garden/environmental conditions. For example, do the brown markings on the base of the petals of Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ always express under differing soil, and temperature extremes? Are differing phenotype expressions a function of the genotype, environmental factors, or both? I certainly am not looking for someone to answer these questions, however I do ponder such things. Much of the enjoyed I get out of gardening is from conducting experiments and doing research to answers such questions.

Thank you for posting photographs of so many interesting species. I enjoy the Trilliums too, even though, for the most part, they do not grow well in our garden.

[Herman Mylemans]

Erythronium revolutum 'White Beauty'

[Ian Y]

Some very interesting information here thanks for the pictures and commentary.

In response to Robert's question I find that while the underlying markings on various Erythronium do vary in intensity which I put down to weather, mostly light and temperature. I have also recorded exactly the same variations with the depth of colour of the tepals and also the brown markings on the leaves all can vary from year to year and even within the same year depending on the temperature conditions when the individual plants are making their growth.

Herman

I appreciate that you posted photographs of a number of Western North American Erythronium species from your garden. They certainly are well grown and seem very well adjusted to your climatic/garden environment. I often wonder how these species respond under variable garden/environmental conditions. For example, do the brown markings on the base of the petals of Erythronium multiscapideum ‘Cliftonii’ always express under differing soil, and temperature extremes? Are differing phenotype expressions a function of the genotype, environmental factors, or both? I certainly am not looking for someone to answer these questions, however I do ponder such things. Much of the enjoyed I get out of gardening is from conducting experiments and doing research to answers such questions.

Thank you for posting photographs of so many interesting species. I enjoy the Trilliums too, even though, for the most part, they do not grow well in our garden.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

Thank you for sharing your insights and observations. I certainly was not fishing for someone to answer my questions or do the research for me. I actually enjoy doing research. But then, I can never gain knowledge of how these plants behave under differing environmental/garden conditions without others sharing their observations, insights, and hypotheses. So, thank you again for taking the time to share from your wealth of knowledge on this genus.

It might be interesting to know that I currently grow high elevation forms of Erythronium multiscapideum from their northern range. These plants all share the characteristic where the tepals fade to pink-purple with age. None of my low elevation forms of this species share this trait. The high elevation forms absolutely key to Erythronium multiscapideum and grow at elevations well below where Erythronium purpurascens is found. Recently I acquired seed of Erythronium multiscapideum from a high elevation site in the northwestern portion of its range. Erythronium purpurascens is not found in this region. I have vigorous seedlings coming along. I will be very curious the type of plants they will produce. This is a few years off still.

Other exciting news: Salmon Mountain Wakerobin, Trillium oettingeri, has gained species status. It is a very fascinating and distinct species found here in the Salmon Mountains of Northwestern California. I have spent time in the Salmon Mountains. From a botanical perspective it is a very remarkable region.

I am still on the lookout for Vaccinium shastense ssp. nevadense in our region. Based on the examination of very old herbarium specimens, it is a relatively new species having been rediscovered within the last 10 years or so. From the descriptions it appears to be similar, yet quite distinct from Vaccinium parvifolium, which is also found in our region.

[Herman Mylemans]

Robert,
Trillium oettingeri is unknown to me. So I looked him up on the internet. Its former name was Trillium ovatum ssp. oettingeri. The flowers are small and the leaves large like the Asian trilliums.

[Leena]

I have grown Erythronium from seed ex seeds in 2014 -2016, and these pictures are from those plants last spring (May 2023).








Last spring I got a good crop of seeds from my own plants, and they are now germinating in masses. This is just what I hoped for when I first sowed the seed ex seeds.
However, it seems to me they are now too crowded, but when would be a good time to divide them? In the first summer when they are dormant, or the second summer?