About Erythronium citrinum S.Watson
Erythronium citrinum, commonly known as cream fawn lily, produces flowers on stems 6 to 8 inches tall. It has a pair of broad, mottled leaves that reach up to around 6 inches long. This species has a very shallowly three-lobed stigma and white anthers. The flowers are creamy-white with a yellow center; the tips of the tepals turn pinkish as the flowers age. It grows near three other Erythronium species: Erythronium oregonum, Erythronium howellii, and Erythronium hendersonii. The very similar Erythronium howellii has a more restricted range, and can be told apart by its lack of nectariferous appendages on the bases of its inner petals. Erythronium hendersonii, whose distribution ends just at the northern boundary of cream fawn lily's range, is fairly similar but is easily distinguished by its purple flowers. Widespread and fairly abundant in southwest Oregon, Erythronium oregonum can be distinguished by its deeply three-lobed stigma, in contrast to the shallowly lobed stigma of Erythronium citrinum. Erythronium citrinum grows in open woods and shrubby slopes, and is more or less limited to serpentine soils. It blooms in early spring, and sometimes blooms in large profusions.
