Taxon Report

Erythronium helenae Appleg.

St. Helena fawn lily

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Erythronium helenae, commonly known as St. Helena fawn lily, is a perennial bulbiferous herb in the Liliaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, Cismontane woodland, Lower montane coniferous forest, and Valley and foothill grassland, growing at elevations from 350 to 1220 meters. Erythronium helenae is ranked 4.2, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Erythronium helenae Appleg.
Common Name:	St. Helena fawn lily
Family:	Liliaceae
Element Code:	PMLIL0U060
USDA Plants Symbol:	ERHE6
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial bulbiferous herb
Blooming Period: Mar-May	Mar-May
Elevation:	350-1220 (1150-4005)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Cismontane woodland, Lower montane coniferous forest, Valley and foothill grassland
Microhabitat:	Serpentine (sometimes), Volcanic (sometimes)
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.2
Global Rank:	G3
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Lake (LAK), Napa (NAP), Sonoma (SON)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Aetna Springs (3812264), Calistoga (3812255), Clearlake Oaks (3912216), Cloverdale (3812371), Detert Reservoir (3812265), Jericho Valley (3812274), Jimtown (3812267), Middletown (3812275), Mount St. Helena (3812266), Napa (3812233), St. Helena (3812254), The Geysers (3812277), Whispering Pines (3812276)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes



Threatened by horticultural collecting, road construction, and geothermal development. See Contributions from the Dudley Herbarium 1:188 (1933) for original description, and Madroño 3(2):109 (1935) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 21 February 2025].