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Liliaceae
Avalanche Lily
Erythronium montanum
Purity and new beginnings.
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Genus
- Erythronium
- Native to
- Pacific Northwest, Western North America
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- bulb
- Height
- 0.5-1 ft
- Sunlight
- part shade to full sun
- Soil
- moist, rich, well-drained
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 4-7
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- These lilies bloom just days after snowmelt, sometimes pushing right through the last patches of snow.
- In Mount Rainier National Park, vast meadows turn white with avalanche lilies each summer.
- The bulbs grow deeper each year, sometimes reaching 12 inches underground to survive harsh winters.
- Bears and deer dig up and eat the starchy bulbs as an important early-season food source.
- The flowers track the sun across the sky, a behavior called heliotropism, to maximize warmth for pollination.
Color meanings
0
purity
1
renewal