E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Erythronium montanum S. Watson
white glacier lily (white avalanche lily; white avalanche-lily)
Liliaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Hans Roemer  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #10267)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Erythronium montanum
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.



General:
Perennial herb from a slender, 3- to 4-cm long bulb attached to a chain of bead-like rhizome segments; flowering stems 15-35 cm tall, smooth.
Leaves:
Basal leaves 2, bright yellow-green, not mottled, broadly egg-shaped to lance-oblong, 10-20 cm long, smooth, abruptly narrowed to almost wingless stalks 2-7 cm long, the margins entire; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 to 3 (4) flowers atop a leafless, unbranched, smooth stem; flowers white with some yellow at the base on the inner surface, nodding, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals broadly lanceolate, 2.5-5 cm long, 7-15 mm wide, somewhat curved back; stamens 6, anthers yellow; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits:
Capsules, cylindric-egg-shaped, erect, 2-3 cm long; seeds several to many, brown, egg-shaped, angular.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist meadows and open forests in the montane and subalpine zones; rare on Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland (Mt. Waddington area); S to N OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Erythronium montanum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 1067 1181 1323
Slope Gradient (%) 13 24 58
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
20 53 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 4 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
5
Modal BEC Zone Class
MH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CWH(1), IDF(1), MH(3)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is alpine tundra & boreal.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References