Erythronium propullans

Erythronium propullans, the Minnesota dwarf trout lily, Minnesota adder's tongue or Minnesota fawnlily, is a rare plant endemic to the Cannon River and North Fork Zumbro River watersheds in Rice County, Goodhue County and the extreme northern edge of Steele County, Minnesota,[1] in the United States. The plants are believed to be a mutation or sport of the white trout lily (Erythronium albidum) and evolved following the most recent ice age.

Erythronium propullans

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Lilieae
Genus: Erythronium
Species:
E. propullans
Binomial name
Erythronium propullans

The plants' flower in the spring at the same time as Hepaticas, Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and other spring wildflowers. Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, River Bend Nature Center, and several tracts owned by The Nature Conservancy protect portions of its habitat.

Description

Erythronium propullans is a perennial growing from a small bulb. It has smaller flowers than E. albidum, often only 1cm long with a pinkish tint to them.[2] The fruits are also smaller than those of E. albidum, with the mature fruits nodding.[2] Offshoots are produced by flowering plants grow from the stem above the bulbs unlike E. albidum which are produced from the bulbs.[2] Erythronium propullans produces one stolon below the soil surface on the midway point of the stem on blooming plants; that stolon then produces a new bulb. On non-blooming plants, 1 to 3 stolons are produced directly from the bulbs, each ending in a new clone.[3]

Habitat

Erythronium propullans is found only in two counties in Minnesota (the only strictly endemic plant species in the state.) It is typically a woodland species most commonly found on north-facing slopes above or near streambeds.[2] It is found in areas with dense shade in the summer, but completes its growing period early in the year before trees are fully leafed out.[2]

Discovery

The lily was first noted by Mary Hodges, a high school science instructor at St. Mary's School (now Shattuck-St. Mary's) in Faribault, Minnesota, and then formally listed as a new species by botanist Asa Gray in 1871.[4] It is listed as both a federally and state endangered species.[2]

Reproduction

Research suggests that E. propullans rarely reproduces from seed on its own, but is highly dependent on vegetative reproduction, or limited cross pollination with Erythronium albidum, thus limiting population growth[5] and spread of the species.

Threats

The historical and current distribution of E. propullans is limited and the primary threats to the species include, development and flooding along the floodplains and ridges where it currently exists, trampling and recreational use impacts, as well as habitat changes brought on by invasive species such as common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). Since the plants form large colonies of 100 or more clonal plants, the true number of distinctive individuals may number only around 400.[2] Attempts to propagate the species by humans have generally been unsuccessful.[2]

References
  1. Sather, N. (1990). "Minnesota dwarf trout lily: an endangered Minnesota wildflower" (PDF). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
  2. Barbara Coffin; Lee Pfannmuller (1988). Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. U of Minnesota Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-8166-1689-3.
  3. Allen, Geraldine A.; Robertson, Kenneth R. (2002). "Erythronium propullans". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 2005-05-10 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. Gray, A. (1871). "A new species of Erythronium". American Naturalist. University of Chicago Press, American Society of Naturalists. 5 (5): 298–300. JSTOR 2447111.
  5. Banks, Jo Ann (1980). "The Reproductive Biology of Erythronium propullans Gray and Sympatric Populations of E. albidum Nutt. (Liliaceae)". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. Torrey Botanical Society. 107 (2): 181–188. doi:10.2307/2484223. JSTOR 2484223.
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