Trout Lily - Erythronium americanum
Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum, or the dog-toothed violet, is an herbaceous perennial native to North America. It is edible as a pot herb but should only be collected where abundant and can cause stomach upset if consumed in quantity. Trout lily has been used by indigenous peoples, mainly the Cherokee and Haudenosaunee, for a variety of medicinal uses, including as a root tea to reduce fever, as a poultice to heal wounds, and as a chew to prevent pregnancy. I find it growing the same rich, sun-dappled woodland as ramps.
The lily family of plants contains flavonoids, phenolic acids, saponins, sterols, and alkaloids, which are the sources of medicinal compounds. The plant is strongly antioxidative. The entire plant contains an anti-ulcer and anti-cancer agent, α-methylenebutyrolactone.1 There is ongoing research into what pharmaceutical uses can come from this. Phenolics and flavonoids have antioxidant, bacteriostatic, and anticancer properties.
All parts of the plant can be used to make tea or tincture to reduce fevers, stomach ulcers, and swollen glands. It can be used to treat scrofula, a painful swelling of the lymph glands in the neck.
In 1872 it appeared on a list of medicinal plants commonly kept by druggists although no mention was made of its uses.2 This book is still available in print.
Dosage is a bit elusive for this plant’s tincture due to lack of study. Go slow. Start with 5 drops three times a day. Allergies and sensitivities are always possible, and the plant is an emetic if enough is consumed. Do not take it if pregnant or nursing.
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose or treat any illness.
1 Anticancer agent from medicinal plants: a review 3 Arpita Roy, Tushita Attre, Navneeta Bharadvaja* Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, 110042, India *Correspondence: navneetab@dtu.co.in
2 A Botanical Index to All the Medicinal Plants, Barks, Roots, Seeds and Flowers Usually Kept by Druggists by Allan Pollock