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For Your Garden - March 2015
Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.
yellow dog-tooth violet (Erythronium americanum)
The yellow dog-tooth violet, also known as the yellow trout lily or adder's tongue, grows in moist woodlands mainly in the eastern and southern parts of the state as well as in Calhoun County. As a member of the lily family of plants, it grows from a bulb. The plant has two basal leaves with dark marks on them. A single flower arises on a stalk from the base of the leaves. The six petals are yellow and curve backwards. It blooms in April and May.
Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.
Illinois Range
Native Plant Information
For more information about Illinois native plants, visit our Native Habitat Descriptions, Requirements, and Plant Lists page. The following publications are available from the IDNR on our publications page.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Illinois Status: common, native
