Yellow Glacier Lily - Erythronium grandiflorum

Family: Liliaceae - Lily
Other Names: Yellow Avalanche Lily ^[E-flora]

Identification
"Erythronium grandiflorum is a BULB growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.1 m (0ft 4in). It is hardy to zone (UK) 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in April, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers dry or moist soil." [PFAF]

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC:

• Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. grandiflorum ^[E-flora]
  
• Origin Status: Native^[E-flora]
  
• General: Perennial herb from a slender, 3- to 5-cm long bulb and an elongate, segmented corm; flowering stems 15-30 cm tall, smooth. ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
  
• Leaves: Basal leaves 2, bright yellow-green, not mottled, oblong to egg-shaped, 10-20 cm long, smooth, narrowed gradually to broad, slightly winged stalks clasping the stem at the base, the margins entire but somewhat wavy; stem leaves lacking. ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
  
• Flowers: Inflorescence usually a solitary flower atop a leafless, unbranched, smooth stem; flowers golden-yellow to cream, nodding, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals lanceolate, 2-4 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, strongly curved back; stamens 6, anthers white, yellow, or red; pistil 1, 3-chambered. ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
• Fruits: Capsules, cylindric-club-shaped, erect, 3-5 cm long; seeds several to many (typically 20 to 50), brown, papery. ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}

Hazards
Skin contact with the bulbs has been known to cause dermatitis in sensitive people[65]. ^[PFAF] The Indians always drank water after eating the bulbs because they believed that otherwise they would get sick[256]. Large quantities can have an emetic effect[85]. ^[PFAF]

Edible Uses

• Bulbs: Fresh, but usually Cooked.^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]} They have a nice, crisp, chewy taste when eaten raw.^[Harrington]. raw or cooked[2, 46, 85, 105, 161, 257]. ^[PFAF]
  
• Harvesting: The slender bulbs, which are up to 5cm long[270], are usually harvested in the spring as the first leaves appear above ground, they can be stored for some months in a cool place[256]. ^[PFAF] The corms are deep seated and it is hard to dig out a reasonably sized mess. To make it worse they tend to snap off easily and may often be lost in the soil. ^[Harrington]
  The bulbs could be dug as early as April and May, but usually were obtained from the end of June through until the first snowfall. Their harvesting was often combined with huckleberry picking (Vaccinium membranaceum) or hunting. Families camped in the high country, and according to the archaeological findings of many pit-cooking depressions in upland areas throughout the Interior, they used to cook the bulbs on site, then dry them for transport. ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
  
• Preservation: Stored bulbs develop a sweeter flavour when cooked than fresh bulbs[257]. The bulbs can also be dried for later use[207]. ^[PFAF]
  
• Preparation:
  
• Raw: The raw bulb has a slightly bitter milky taste, the texture is cool and moist inside and so the North American Indians liked eating them on hot days[256]. ^[PFAF]
• Cooked: The cooked bulb has a more starchy texture and a sweet flavour[256, 257]. ^[PFAF]We boiled them for varying times, but found 25 minutes (at 5000 ft.) to be about right. They had a very pleasant crisp taste and we liked them very much. This plant is locally abundant but the corms are hard to dig. Remember, if you eat it raw, take it easy at first! ^[Harrington]
  Sometimes the bulbs were dried raw, but most were left for a few days, then pit-cooked for 24 hours or more. Leaving the bulbs to age or "wilt" slightly before cooking apparently enhanced the conversion of inulin to fructose, because the bulbs were said to become sweeter. One Lillooet man said he had observed grizzly bears, who are known to relish these bulbs, overturn the turf and leave the bulbs exposed for a few days before returning to eat them; evidently bears were aware of their increased sweetness and digestibility. The bulbs were cooked and dried loose, or were strung on strings or skewered on sticks, especially those destined for trade. The dried bulbs were cooked in soups and stews with fish or meat, or in special "puddings" (including dried black tree lichen. Saskatoon berries, deer fat, salmon eggs, and tiger lily bulbs). ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
  
• Leaves, Young Plants: The leaves and corms can be used raw as a kind of salad, but they should be tried carefully as some writers say they have an emetic effect. The limited amounts we have tried had no such action. The young plants have been boiled as a potherb and are said to be good. ^[Harrington]
  
• Leaves: Raw or cooked[85, 106]. Eating the leaves will greatly reduce the vigour of the bulb, so can only be recommended in times of emergency[K]. ^[PFAF]
  
• Young Seedpods: Raw or cooked[106, 212]. The cooked pods taste like French beans[212]. ^[PFAF]
  

Medicinal Uses

• Root: The pulverized root was applied to boils and as a wet dressing on skin sores[213, 257]. ^[PFAF]

Aboriginal Use

The slender bulbs ("corms") contain the carbohydrate inulin [see under camas (Camassia spp.)] and hence are inedible raw. Some Indigenous People believe the raw bulbs to be poisonous. Nevertheless, as a cooked product, they were an important food of the Interior peoples of British Columbia. The dried bulbs were traded coastward, for example to the Upriver Halkomelem of British Columbia. The bulbs were also eaten occasionally by the Blackfoot of Alberta, either fresh or cooked with soup . They were also eaten occasionally by Montana peoples such as the Flathead, but were said to cause vomiting if taken in quantity.^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
Among the peoples of British Columbia who used them—the Nlaka'pamux, Lillooet, Okanagan-Colville, Shuswap, Chilcotin, Carrier, and, through trade, the Nuxalk at Bella Coola—the bulbs were often associated with "mountain potato" (spring beauty corms; Claytonia lanceolata). In fact, the two "root" foods often grow together and were harvested at the same time. Whereas the Erythronium bulbs were normally pit-cooked for an extended period, however, the Claytonia corms could be steamed or pit-cooked for only a short time. Controlled burning of mountain slopes was formerly used to maintain digging sites. ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}

Yellow avalanche lily – Erythronium grandiflorum ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}

References

• [E-flora] http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Erythronium grandiflorum&redblue=Both&lifeform=7, [Accessed: 11/29/2014 6:54:20 PM ]