Asian Fawnlily

Appearance

"Erythronium japonicum" has a stem up to 20 centimetres long, although as much as 30% of the stem may be underground. Bulb is elongated, up to 6 cm long but rarely more than 1 cm wide. Leaves are broadly elliptical to lanceolate, the blade up to 12 cm long and 7 cm wide. Flowers are solitary, rose-colored.

Naming

Applying the generic common name "trout lily" may be somewhat of a misnomer, because in the Japanese species, the individual plant may or may not exhibit the flecked dark markings on the leaves, which is emblematic of that common name.

It is a spring ephemeral, blooming April–June in woodlands. It is known as "zhūyáhuā" in Chinese, "eolleji" in Korean, and "katakuri" in Japanese.

Status

Reporting is mixed on whether it should be regarded as endangered in Japan. One source adds it to a list of wildflowers that should be included as endangered, but the so-called Eco kentei ja or environmental specialist certification, run by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has had an exam question in the past, where the correct answer to "Is katakuri endangered" was "no". The Japanese ministry 's version of the "Red Data Book" has not handed down an assessment of the whole species, even though in the "Red Data Book" compiled by individual prefectures, its status is evaluated at "near threatened" in Hyōgo and Mie, and rated vulnerable-endangered in Shikoku and southern Kanto.

This woodland plant is more vulnerable, since it has a very short season and is slow-growing. It needs to grow into a 7–8 year old plant before it finally blooms, so will not rebound in numbers once taken. In Niiharu, the colony was entirely wiped out overnight shortly after media coverage about it blooming in the area.

A colony that can be viewed within the confines of metropolitan Tokyo is at Shimizuyama-ikoi-no-mori ja which translates approximately to "Shimizuyama grove of respite", in Nerima-ku. This is somewhat in the neighborhood of the Tomitaro Makino memorial garden which also has a small number of plants planted.

Uses

The "katakuriko", is a starch that bears the name of this plant, which originally refers to the starch from the "E. japonicum" bulb. Because of its small quantity, this starch is no longer common; potato starch has taken its place and name nowadays.

This plant is not known to be farmed, and has been harvested from wild colonies by poachers, but probably not by seekers of starch sources, but by wildflower enthusiasts or traffickers.

The plant powder was also used as ointment to treat rashes.

The rumor that it is used in wagashi, particularly in the confection called "katakuri-rakugan" is apocryphal, since historian Kahei Mori ja states that this confection, which used to be traditionally presented to Morioka Domain, was made from the starch of lily bulbs.