Trout Lily

by, Anne Kretschmann

One of my favorite spring ephemerals is the trout lily. Trout lilies are one of the first plants to extend their leaves in the spring. They grow in colonies often resembling a carpet underfoot in moist soils and are common in hardwood forests in the Northwoods. Their elliptical shaped leaves are 3-7 inches long with a unique pattern of grayish-purple blotches that resemble the pattern on a brook trout. After 7 years of growing they produce a single downward facing yellow 1 inch long flower with dark orange stamens. Before growing above ground, trout lilies mature a teardrop bulb underground for several years.

There are many historical medicinal uses for trout lilies. The leaves were applied to wounds. You can make tea out of all parts of the plant, and has been used for fevers and stomach ulcers. The plant is made up of alpha-methylene-butyrolactone, which binds to cancerous cells to inhibit reproduction.

The leaves and flowers are edible. The leaves taste best when they have just sprouted first thing in the spring. They have a slight bitter aftertaste, but the youngest leaves are mild and earthly sweet. They should be eaten raw, as cooking can intensify the aftertaste. The bulbs are sweetest before the plant produces shoots above ground and taste like combination of sweet corn and peas. If dug in the fall, they are harder and starchier. It is best to identify and mark locations one year for foraging the following spring or fall.

Please make sure that you never harvest more than 5-10% of any one location or colony. This ensures that you are not harming the population for future years.

Try this Trout Lily Salad recipe!

2 cups of trout lily leaves, sliced into sizable bites

1-2 cloves of chopped roasted garlic

½ cup of nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews, or walnuts)

½ cup of cranberries or craisins

Red wine vinegar dressing