The Cannon River Trout Lily Scientific and Natural Area shelters one of the largest populations of the endangered Minnesota dwarf trout lily, a delicate flower that blooms in early spring.
This species is Minnesota’s only endemic flowering plant, found naturally nowhere else but in three southeastern Minnesota counties—Rice, Goodhue, and Steele—within the Straight and Cannon River watersheds.
The dwarf trout lily, first discovered in 1870 by botany instructor Mary B. Hedges near Faribault, has a notably brief life cycle. Classified as a spring ephemeral, it sprouts, flowers, and produces food in early spring before its leaves fade by early summer as the forest canopy fills in.
The plant primarily spreads asexually through offshoots, which is reflected in its scientific name, Erythronium propullans. Only rarely does it produce fertile seeds, relying on cross-pollination with the common white trout lily when it does, making its continued survival uncertain.