''Erythronium propullans'', the Minnesota dwarf trout lily, Minnesota adder's tongue or Minnesota fawnlily, is a rare plant

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Cannon River and North Fork

Zumbro River The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, acces ...

watersheds in Rice County, Goodhue County and the extreme northern edge of Steele County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in the United States. The plant is closely related to the white trout lily (''

Erythronium albidum ''Erythronium albidum'', the white fawnlily or white trout lily, is a small herbaceous geophyte in the lily family. It is also known as adder's tongue, white dog's-tooth violet, serpent's tongue, trout lily, deer tongue, creeklily and yellow s ...

'') and is believed to have evolved less than 9,000 years ago. It was listed as an endangered species of the United States under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

in 1986. The plants flower in the spring at the same time as hepaticas,

Dutchman's breeches ''Dicentra cucullaria'', Dutchman's britches, or Dutchman's breeches, is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia Basin. The common name Dutchman's breeches derive ...

bloodroot ''Sanguinaria canadensis'', bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus ''Sanguinaria'', included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to ' ...

, and other spring

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park is a state park of Minnesota, US, northeast of Faribault just outside the small town of Nerstrand. The park derives its name from the Big Woods, a large, contiguous forested area covering much of southeast Minn ...

River Bend Nature Center River Bend Nature Center is a non-profit day-use nature center in the city of Faribault, Minnesota. It was established in the late 1970s as an educational non-profit. The nature center encompasses cradling the Straight River. There are of ...

, and several tracts owned by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

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 1 cm long with a pinkish tint to them. The fruits are also smaller than those of ''E. albidum'', with the mature fruits nodding. Offshoots are produced by flowering plants grow from the stem above the bulbs unlike ''E. albidum'' which are produced from the bulbs. ''Erythronium propullans'' produces one

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

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.

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. 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.

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,

, and then formally listed as a new species by botanist

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

in 1871. It is listed as both a federally and state endangered species.

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 ''

'', thus limiting population growth 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

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

s and ridges where it currently exists, trampling and recreational use impacts, as well as habitat changes brought on by

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

such as common

buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 140 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

(''

Rhamnus cathartica ''Rhamnus cathartica'', the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the cent ...

''). Since the plants form large colonies of 100 or more clonal plants, the true number of distinctive individuals may number only around 400. Attempts to propagate the species by humans have generally been unsuccessful.

References

External links

Trout Lily Preserve
by

Dwarf Trout Lily
by

USFWS The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats in the United States. Th ...

Plant Profile
by Center for Plant Conservation

by

{{Taxonbar, from=Q147620 propullans Ephemeral plants Flora of Minnesota Endemic flora of the United States