LILIES - RHS Lily Group

when there is disturbance by wind or maybe passing or grazing animals. There
is a detailed article on the subject of ants and seed dispersal by Art Guppy in a
recent Bulletin of the North American Rock Garden Society (Vol. 65, 3: 2007). The
Eurasian and eastern North American species have another feature in common and
that is the way in which the leaves are mottled. In the former group the blotching
is in a rather random pattern, often cutting across the main veins in the leaf,
whereas in the case of those western American species which do have mottled
leaves the darker or lighter stains are in the spaces between veins. Returning to
E. dens-canis, one of its great attributes is its variability in flower colour – hence
the reason for the several named clones – from white through shades of pink to
deep purple or violet; some populations are fairly uniform, others very mixed.
The late Kees Sahin has remarked (personal communication) particularly on
the extreme variation in Romania. The Caucasian/north Iranian E. caucasicum
is very similar in morphology but has some distinguishing characteristics; it is
usually the first erythronium to flower and normally has creamy-coloured flowers
with a yellow centre. Perhaps there is a case for dismissing it as a geographical
race of E. dens-canis but there is actually little to be gained in sinking it. This is
easily cultivated but I cannot say the same for E. sibiricum which does not take
to the climate of south-eastern England; I haven’t tried keeping it in the ‘fridge
for the winter, often a useful ploy for growing high altitude or cold climate bulbs.
Although again, this is clearly allied to E. dens-canis it has some distinguishing
features, especially of the stamens and stigma. The far eastern E. japonicum has
attractive dark jagged markings in the centre of the otherwise purplish flower, and
the stamen filaments are different, so it too is distinctive among the Eurasians; it
is somewhat easier to grow than its Siberian relative although I have only ever
achieved small clumps and have not seen impressive plantings of it elsewhere.
The eastern American species should not be lightly dismissed for they do
have what is often referred to as ‘quiet charm’ and the leaf mottling is particularly
attractive. In Britain we find that the light intensity is often too poor early in
the year to encourage the flowers to open properly, certainly in the case of
E. americanum, E. albidum and E. mesochoreum. Choosing a spot under
deciduous trees where they will receive maximum sunlight is the best bet –
or place a cloche over them at the appropriate moment. Being stoloniferous,
propagation is not a problem with these and one can get quite a sizeable colony
in a short space of time. My own favourite of these is E. umbilicatum which
although very similar in overall appearance to E. americanum does, I find, flower
more freely and is less stoloniferous. I await the flowering of E. rostratum (grown
from seed) with interest as it is very rare in cultivation in the UK. The great rarity,
as a wild plant, is E. propullans and for this reason I will strive to maintain and
distribute it: but of this I am sure, it will never receive an AGM!
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