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Yellow Avalanche Lily, Glacier Lily - Erythronium grandiflorum


Family: Liliaceae - Lily family Genus Common Name: Fawnlily Native Status: Native
Erythronium grandiflorum - Yellow Avalanche Lily, Glacier Lily. Yellow Avalanche Lily can be found in subalpine mountain meadows, slopes, and in clearings or thinly forested areas. According to Wikipedia, the roots are a preferred food of the grizzly bear. Of the 24 species of Erythronium found in the United States, Erythronium grandiflorum is the only one found in Idaho, according to the USDA Plants Database. It is a native of 9 western states (CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY.)

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Erythronium grandiflorum

Distribution of Erythronium grandiflorum in the United States and Canada:
USDA Map temporarily unavailable.
Blue=Native; Grey=Introduced

Map from USDA Plants Database:
USDA, NRCS. 2017. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 16 Jan 2025). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

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Site: Boise National Forest, Ada County, ID Date: 2010-June-08Photographer: Gerald C. Williamson
The flowering Erythronium grandiflorum plant has 2 medium-green basal, lanceolate, entire leaves. There will be 1 to 3 yellow dangling flowers per plant on a stalk up to 10 or 12 inches tall. The prominently displayed anthers are cream to yellow, with reports of them occasionally being red. The tepals are frequently sharply recurved.

These specimens were among many observed in the Boise National Forest, Ada County, Idaho after we left the sagebrush and moved into the evergreen forest on June 8.
Erythronium grandiflorum
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Erythronium grandiflorum initially published on USWildflowers.com 2010-06-10; Updated 2015-06-24

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