The photo at right shows
t he developing seed pod of the Avalanche Lily is shown at right.
Avalanche lilies are appropriately named, for as soon as the snow melts, they flood the forest floor with masses of their white blossoms. Due to the white flowers and lack of mottling on the leaves, it is also one of the easier fawn lilies to key out and identify.
Avalanche lilies have one leafless stalk arising from 15-25 cm high from one or two basal leaves. Individual leaves are entirely green in color, lacking the mottling found on many fawn lilies. The leaves are broadly ovate-oblong-lanceolate with blunt to pointed tips, the leaves tapering rairly abruptly to thick round or winged petioles. The leaves range from 10-20 cm long with the blades 2-6 cm wide.
The inflorescence consists of 1-3 flowers widely-spaced near the top of the scape. Individual flowers consist of 6 whitish tepals, each ranging from 3-5 cm long and from 7-15 mm wide. The inner surface of each tepal may be ringed with a broad band of yellow near the base of the tepal. Tepals, as seen in the photo above will fade to a pinkish-lavendar color after fertilization. The 6 anthers are yellow and range from 9-10 mm long. The style is slender and 3-forked at the tip. As the flower ages, the style will extend well beyond the anthers, pushed upwards by the developing fruit. The fruit is a cylindric-obovoid capsule from 1.5-3 cm long (Again, view the capsule in the photo above.
Although a lovely wildflower, it evidently does not survive in low elevation gardens.
Avalanche lilies may be found in open meadows as well as on heavily timbered slopes at higher elevations.
Avalanche lilies may be found from Vancouver Island south into the Olympic Mts. and in the Cascade Mts. from northern Washington south to northern Oregon.
In the Columbia River Gorge it may be found between the elevations of 2800'-4800' on the higher peaks and hills to the west of the White Salmon and Hood Rivers.
