Erythronium parviflorum
| Erythronium parviflorum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Erythronium parviflorum
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame. Water lightly in summer, it should germinate in autumn or winter[1][2]. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification[1]. Sow as early in spring as possible in a cold frame. Sow the seed thinly so that it will not be necessary to prick them out for their first year of growth. Give an occasional liquid feed to the seedlings to make sure that they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants are dormant, pot up the small bulbs putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in a shady position in the greenhouse for another 2 3 years and then plant them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in late summer.
Division of the bulbs in the summer as the leaves die down[3]. Larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up smaller bulbs and grow them on in a shady position in a greenhouse for a year before planting them out when dormant in late summer.
Cultivation: Prefers slightly acid soil conditions but succeeds in chalky soils if these contain plenty of humus[1]. Requires semi-shade, preferably provided by trees or shrubs, and a well-drained soil[4][1]. Succeeds in almost any light soil, preferring one that is rich in humus[3].
Not an easy plant to grow in cultivation in Britain. It is best in a well-drained soil that is wet in spring but rather dry in the summer[5].
Flowers are produced in 3 - 4 years from seed[1].
Bulbs should be planted about 7cm deep[3].
Closely related to E. grandiflorum and considered to be no more than part of that species by some botanists[6].
Range: N. America.
Habitat: Sagebrush and montane forest, almost up to the tree line[5].
Edibility: Bulb - raw or cooked[7][8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Early Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, the following notes have been seen for another member of this genus and so some caution is advised.
Skin contact with the bulbs has been known to cause dermatitis in sensitive people[9].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.