Erythronium oregonum
This Pacific Northwest native ephemeral bulb features mottled leaves, blooms in spring with nodding white to pale yellow tepals and a gold heart, goes dormant in summer, and self-seeds to form drifts in partial shade on well-drained, slightly acidic soil.
Common Names
Oregon Fawn Lily, Giant White Fawn Lily, White Fawn Lily, Giant Fawn Lily
Summary
Erythronium oregonum, commonly called the Oregon fawn lily, is a clump-forming bulbous perennial native to the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to California. It features strongly mottled basal leaves and a spring display of up to three nodding, creamy-white flowers with reflexed petals and yellow centers on slender stems, reaching about 12 inches tall and blooming in spring before going dormant in summer.
Culture emphasizes partial shade with moist, well-drained soil, tolerating some sun in lighter shade; keep soil evenly moist during the growing season and allow a dry summer dormancy. Plant bulbs about 3–4 inches deep; propagation is by seed or division after flowering, and it can naturalize to form colonies, making it suitable for woodland, rock, and shade gardens, underplanting of shrubs or roses, or cottage beds. Hardy in USDA zones 3a–9b and UK zone H5, it may be slug-susceptible.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
6-18 inches
Spread
4-20 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 5-9
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally partial shade; tolerates full sun.
Soil Type
Moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil
Soil Drainage
Moist, well-drained soil.
Soil pH
No specific soil pH is ideal; Erythronium oregonum tolerates acidic, alkaline, and neutral soils, with slightly acidic soil preferred.
Bloom Color
Creamy-white
Bloom Time
Spring
Foliage Color
Green leaves, often mottled with brown and white.
Fall Foliage Color
Gold
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Medium growth rate
Seasons of Interest
Spring
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Division
Attracts Wildlife
Bees and butterflies
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Applegate
- Publication
- Madroño 3: 99 (1935)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Liliales
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Genus
- Erythronium
Synonyms
Erythronium revolutum var. watsonii Erythronium giganteum subsp. leucandrum Erythronium oregonum subsp. leucandrum Erythronium revolutum var. albiflorum Erythronium revolutum var. praecox