Fairybell or Queen's Cup?

Fairybell or Queen's Cup? (post #16511)

davidleech on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 18:27

Garden Photos

Hi there.... a second spring in our new Seattle garden and again we have new flowers popping up that I've never seen.

These white six-petaled flowers with yellow stamen and two mottled leaves are popping up all over. I thought they might be Fairybells of some sort, but the leaves look different. Perhaps they are Queen's Cup? But the flower hangs down rather than up.

These ones are close to some Trillium, but they are pretty much all over our back garden. Generally in pretty shaded areas.

Any idea?

You're looking at a native of (post #16511, reply #1 of 5)

by the country gardener in reply to davidleech [original] on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 22:46

You're looking at a native of the Pacific Northwest; it's an Erythronium which has a couple of common names depending on who you talk to. It's called Fawn Lilly usually, also Trout Lily and one species native to the Cascades is called Avalanche Lily. Seemingly delicate, it is quite hardy and a great addition to a woodland garden. Enjoy!

Marty

"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins

Which species is the one in (post #16511, reply #2 of 5)

by Karen in reply to the country gardener [original] on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 13:47

Which species is the one in the photo? I've got a colony of our eastern E. americanum getting established here, after a friend let me come dig on his property a few years ago. Got a terrible case of poison ivy from that expedition but it was worth it. Branching out, I planted E. 'White Beauty' last fall, which I think is a cultivar or hybrid of west coast type(s).

North Carolina - zone 7

I'm fairly sure it's E. (post #16511, reply #3 of 5)

by the country gardener in reply to Karen [original] on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 18:54

I'm fairly sure it's E. oreganum, Oregon Fawn Lily. I'm basing that on the leaf mottling, flower color and the fact that it has naturalized where it is. I suppose it could be a hybrid too. White Beauty is either a E. revolutum or E. californicum; it was grown on from wild gathered bulbs. I don't usually know that much minutae, but I was present for an argument about which species it is. As I understood it, the guy who collected the original was unsure which species it is.

Marty

"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins

Thanks for the info Marty, no (post #16511, reply #4 of 5)

by Karen in reply to the country gardener [original] on Wed, 03/24/2010 - 09:19

Thanks for the info Marty, no wonder the provenance of White Beauty isn't clear. I hope I can make it happy here -- I planted it where I can throw a little extra water on it during our summer dry spells.

North Carolina - zone 7

thanks for the wonderful (post #16511, reply #5 of 5)

by davidleech in reply to Karen [original] on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 23:17

thanks for the wonderful information.... you are a godsend of helpful information as much as the previous house owner who blessed us with the wonderful fauna we see popping up every day.

Fairybell or Queen's Cup?