Erythronium

Erythronium grandiflorum subsp. grandiflorum

The tooth lilies ( Erythronium ) are a genus of flowering plants of the lily family ( Liliaceae ). It includes a little under thirty species, which are almost all native to North America, only one species, the dog tooth violet, found in Europe. The name is derived from the onion, recalls the shape of a dog tooth.

Description

Tooth lilies are perennial, herbaceous plants. They grow from egg-shaped to oblong onions, on which are occasionally short rhizome segments. Some species form daughter bulbs, sometimes sitting, sometimes at the end of slender runners. Also in such a propagating species are characterized by the formation of fewer flowers than species without vegetative propagation.

Tooth lilies have during the vegetative phase bodenbürtiges pedunculated sheet, during the heyday of two. The pure green or purple, brown or white speckled, smooth leaf blade is folded up flat and lanceolate to ovate, wider for single sheets and reaches a length of 6 to 60 inches.

The flower stem is green, occasionally red, the terminal inflorescence is a cluster of one to ten flowers. The showy flowers are usually nodding, occasionally upright or sideways facing. The six bloom (four in Erythronium propullans ) are bent back to spread, white, yellow, pink or purple and have the approach often a short yellow (sometimes other colors ) approach and are ovate to lanceolate.

The stamens of the six stamens are generally slim, the ovary is upper constant. The pen bears an un - or dreigelappte scar that tabs are bent back or upright.

The upright capsules are obovate to oblong- round, rounded at the extreme end or blunt. The seeds are brown and reverse- egg-shaped. The basic chromosome number is 11 or 12

Dissemination

The not quite thirty species are almost all native to North America, only one species ( the dog tooth violet ) is found in Europe, three more species in Asia ( Erythronium caucasicum, Erythronium japonicum, Erythronium sibiricum ). They grow up - except for the Prärieart Erythronium mesochoreum - all in the cool temperate forest and mountain meadow sites.

System

The one with the tulips ( Tulipa) related genus comprises about 27 species, including:

There are also a number of cultural forms.

Documents

The information in this article come from:

  • Geraldine A. Allen & Kenneth R. Robertson: Erythronium. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Flora of North America. Vol 26, p 153 online, retrieved 18 September 2009
Lilioideae Ovary (botany) Stigma (botany) Erythronium multiscapoideum
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