If ever there was the perfect use of the word “diminutive” I think it would be for describing Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum). A lily that grows to be just six inches tall. A bit too big for a doll house but still mighty small for a lily.
It’s flower which dips shyly has no petals but six radiant yellow tepals surrounding six stamens with an ovary in the center with three stimata. Bees are the flower’s pollinators. And contents of the seed capsules will, I’m hoping, increase the population of the Trout Lilies.
Today I’ve come upon emerging Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) but still no Trout Lily. I’m looking forward to being able to share these plants with you once they are up and gleefully blooming. Stay tuned!