WILD CHILD Spring Plants: Trout Lillies

What am I seeing? Have you ever wished you knew just a little more about the plant and animal life you see when you head outside? It can seem intimating when other people seem to recognize things in nature when all the green leaves seem to look the same. But even experts started learning somewhere, so just start with one thing, and see if you can find it on your next walk.  Before you realize it, you will start to recognize the plants and animals you see.

Trout Lilly/Adders Tongue
This pretty flower is just popping up in the London forests. Look for dark green leaves with lighter brown or grey spots that resemble the brook trout, and typically a yellow flower on a tall green stem with six petals and red forked markings resembling a snake’s tongue. Its early appearance before the trees leaf out, make it one of the first flowers you can find in woodland areas in the spring.

Trout Lillies don’t flower for the first 5-7 years of life and only produce a single leaf during those years. See if you can spot young and mature plants on your walks.

Written by Tandy Morton, WILD CHILD Playgroup Facilitator