The name ‘trout lily’ comes from the plant’s resemblance to a brook trout in coloring, the green leaves mottled with gray or brown. This species is native across North America and can be found in woodland habitats. In the early spring before trees fully develop leaves, trout lilies bloom with yellow flowers.
Like other lily species, the trout lily grows from a bulb and can develop colonies where they reproduce through small bulbs forming from an older plant. In a colony of trout lily plants, only 0.5% of plants will have flowers, and only 10% of flowers will develop seeds after being pollinated. The plant’s bright yellow flowers and low height enable ants to be some of the prime pollinators for this species.
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