Dog's tooth Violet

Dog's-tooth Violet (Erythronium) - Liliaceous bulbs, among the loveliest of our hardy flowers, with many species and varieties of interest, and high garden value. These belong to N. America, with the exception of:—

Erythronium Dens-Canis - A beautiful plant found in various parts of Europe. It has handsome oval leaves, with patches of reddish-brown; the rosy-purple or lilac flowers are borne singly on stems 4 to 6 inches high, and droop gracefully. It thrives in moist, sandy, or peaty soil. In sun or shade it is most valuable for the spring or rock garden, or for a border of choice hardy bulbs, and where it is sufficiently plentiful, for edgings to American plants in peat soil. The bulbs are white and oblong, resembling a dogs tooth, hence its name. It is increased by dividing the bulbs every two or three years, and replanting rather deeply. C. Europe. There are now many varieties—white, purple, rose, and violet. I have planted them largely in grass, and find they thrive in any soil in that way, and are very early and pretty both in leaf and flower, scattered in groups and colonies in turf.

Yellow Adders-tongue (Erythronium Americanum) - Common in the woods of the eastern states of N. America. Its pale green leaves are mottled, and commonly dotted with purple and white. Flowers 1 inch across, pale yellow, and spotted near the base; on slender stalks 6 to 9 inches high in May. A variety (E. bracteatum) differs in having a bract developed, as E. grandiflorum sometimes has. It is very pretty, but being somewhat shy to flower, is seldom seen in cultivation. In poor, sandy soil, this little plant blooms better than in compact or cold soil.

Erythronium Giganteum - A variety of E. grandiflorum. Its showy flowers of pure white have a ring of bright orange-red, and measure 3 inches in diameter. It is found in California at an elevation of 6000 to 10,000 feet, and also in Vancouvers Island.

Erythronium Grandiflorum - The only cultivated kind with more than one flower on a stem. In a peat bed, with Lilies and other peat-loving plants, it is very fine, and produces as many as five flowers on a stem.

For a full account of the western Erythroniums, see Flora and Sylva, p.250, vol. i.

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