dogtooth violet

[dawg-tooth vahy-uh-lit, dog-]

noun

1. Also called trout lily. Also called adder's-tongue. any of several North American lilies of the genus Erythronium, having nodding flowers and usually mottled leaves.

2. a related Old World plant, E. dens-canis, having purplish flowers.

dogtooth violet

noun

1. Also called: adders-tongue.  fawn lily. a name for various plants of the liliaceous genus Erythronium, esp the North American E. americanum, with yellow nodding flowers, or the European E. dens-canis, with purple flowers

Word History and Origins

Origin of dogtooth violet¹

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

There are also local wildflowers - trillium, dogtooth violets and cornflowers from ditches.

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And one tall yellow flower was called a dogtooth violet but was different and was really an adder’s-tongue.

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We ate smoked fish for dinner with boiled dogtooth violet bulbs.

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Contemplative between their dark exotic leaves, dogtooth violets fill the light-flecked hollows.

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It is the only locality in which I have found the dogtooth violet in bloom, and the best place I know of to gather arbutus.

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