Richard wrote >But how do lilies, and also Erythronium appear as pioneers in >cutbanks or recently disturbed ground. Surely as discussed in this >earlier post established bulbs are released into blooming condition >by over-story removal.I have not found any mention in literature yet >of a seed movement mechanism in lily, Erythronium yet but I think >the flat shape adheres to passing wet animals on feet and fur, feathers. > Seeds of western North American Erythronium species are distributed by ants, which carry them off to eat a nutritive structure on the seed and then drop the fertile main part. An exhaustive (and to me, as editor, exhausting) discussion of this appeared in the Rock Garden Quarterly a few years ago. This is also true of western Trillium. Lily seeds are probably distributed not only by wind, but also by flowing water. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA