Erythronium albidum
Encyclopedia
Erythronium albidum is a small herbaceous
flowering plant
in the Liliaceae
, native to eastern North America
, from southern Quebec
and southern Manitoba
south to Georgia
and Texas
.
It produces short, slender stems 10–15 cm tall, which bear two oblong leaves
on each stem. The leaves are lanceolate, 8–16 cm long and 3–4 cm broad, dark green and covered with a mottled pattern of purple blotches. At the end of the stem, the plant produces a white, lily-like flower
3–4 cm diameter, with six yellow stamen
s. The flowers are bent downward, and elongate with age. It blooms in mid to late spring.
The plant is mostly found in large groups on the forest floor, often in areas following ground disturbance. Its preferred growing conditions are in part sun to mostly shade and deep, moist loamy soils.
It is also known as Adder's Tongue, Dog's-tooth Violet, Serpent's Tongue, Trout Lily, Deer Tongue, and Yellow Snowdrop.
), and White Fawnlily was often used as a substitute for it. The plant was listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States from 1820-1863 as a treatment for gout.
Some believe that wounds will be healed if the plant is soaked in cold water, then removed and wrapped it in cloth and applied to a wound or bruise. It is left there until the bundle is warm, and then removed and buried in a muddy place.
Little is known of the constituents, because little research has been done. It is known to contain alpha-methylenebutyrolactone. The plant is emetic, emollient, and antiscorbutic when fresh. It is nutritive
when dry.
Certain groups of American Indians
used it for its emetic and contraceptive properties. The Onondaga
women used the leaves as a temporary birth control method in the spring, to avoid giving birth in the most frigid part of winter.
The leaves can be collected anytime, but the bulb enlarges throughout the summer and can be divided in the fall. At that time of year, the bulb is also edible. The fresh leaves are mostly used in the form of a stimulating poultice, applied to swellings, tumors and scrofulous
ulcers.
When made into a tea with horsetail
(Equisetum hyemale), it is claimed to be good for bleeding or ulcers
of bowels, or for tumor
s and inflammation of the bowels. It has been used as a quick relief for nose bleeds and sore eyes. The fresh roots or leaves are simmered in milk; or the juice of the plant infused in apple cider; and these treatments are used for dropsy
, hiccup
s, vomiting
and bleeding of the bowels. Misuse may cause nausea
or even vomiting.
Christian mythology says the lily sprang from the tears of Eve when she found motherhood was near.
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the Liliaceae
Liliaceae
The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...
, native to eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, from southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
south to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
It produces short, slender stems 10–15 cm tall, which bear two oblong leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
on each stem. The leaves are lanceolate, 8–16 cm long and 3–4 cm broad, dark green and covered with a mottled pattern of purple blotches. At the end of the stem, the plant produces a white, lily-like flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
3–4 cm diameter, with six yellow stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The flowers are bent downward, and elongate with age. It blooms in mid to late spring.
The plant is mostly found in large groups on the forest floor, often in areas following ground disturbance. Its preferred growing conditions are in part sun to mostly shade and deep, moist loamy soils.
It is also known as Adder's Tongue, Dog's-tooth Violet, Serpent's Tongue, Trout Lily, Deer Tongue, and Yellow Snowdrop.
Folklore and uses
European settlers considered it to have similar properties to Meadow Saffron (Colchicum autumnaleColchicum autumnale
Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked lady, is a flower which resembles the true crocuses, but flowering in autumn...
), and White Fawnlily was often used as a substitute for it. The plant was listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States from 1820-1863 as a treatment for gout.
Some believe that wounds will be healed if the plant is soaked in cold water, then removed and wrapped it in cloth and applied to a wound or bruise. It is left there until the bundle is warm, and then removed and buried in a muddy place.
Little is known of the constituents, because little research has been done. It is known to contain alpha-methylenebutyrolactone. The plant is emetic, emollient, and antiscorbutic when fresh. It is nutritive
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
when dry.
Certain groups of American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
used it for its emetic and contraceptive properties. The Onondaga
Onondaga (tribe)
The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
women used the leaves as a temporary birth control method in the spring, to avoid giving birth in the most frigid part of winter.
The leaves can be collected anytime, but the bulb enlarges throughout the summer and can be divided in the fall. At that time of year, the bulb is also edible. The fresh leaves are mostly used in the form of a stimulating poultice, applied to swellings, tumors and scrofulous
Scrofula
Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis refers to a lymphadenitis of the cervical lymph nodes associated with tuberculosis. It was previously known as "scrofula".-The disease:...
ulcers.
When made into a tea with horsetail
Horsetail
Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
(Equisetum hyemale), it is claimed to be good for bleeding or ulcers
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
of bowels, or for tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
s and inflammation of the bowels. It has been used as a quick relief for nose bleeds and sore eyes. The fresh roots or leaves are simmered in milk; or the juice of the plant infused in apple cider; and these treatments are used for dropsy
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
, hiccup
Hiccup
A hiccup or hiccough is a myoclonus of the diaphragm that repeats several times per minute. In humans, the abrupt rush of air into the lungs causes the vocal cords to close, creating a "hic" sound....
s, vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
and bleeding of the bowels. Misuse may cause nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
or even vomiting.
Christian mythology says the lily sprang from the tears of Eve when she found motherhood was near.