Out
On A Limb / June 2007
The Trouble of Trilliums
 Trillium
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Mother Nature’s adage, “Leaves of Three, Let it Be” protects campers and kids from poison ivy, but it can also be invoked to protect the elusive, ephemeral trilliums that grace Ohio and West Virginia woodlands. Heedless, unthinking picking of the delicate native flower, along with grazing of woodlots, logging, land development and improper use of herbicides, is making Trillium increasingly scarce.
Trilliums were named in the 1700’s by the father of Taxonomy, Linnaeus, for their characteristically triple configuration - three leaves, three petals, three sepals, three part ovaries. The Large White Trillium, or Trillium grandiflora, found in all 88 of the state’s counties, was adopted as the official wildflower of Ohio in 1987. The pure white three inch blooms of the Large White Trillium, and the smaller maroon-colored Red Trillium, Trillium erectum, are found all across WV. The diminutive white Snow Trillium, Trillium nivale, is very scarce in this region.
Trilliums make their entrance from mid-April through mid-May in dense woods and deep shade. They are part of a genus of about 40-50 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants native to temperate regions of North America and Asia. Cousins to the Lily family, they are also commonly called wake robin or birthroot. The above ground parts of trilliums are scapes with three large, leafy bracts. The true leaves are underground as a papery covering around the rhizomes.
There are three basic floral forms, or groups, of Trillium, each determined by how the flower is attached to its stalk. The “erect” group has a flower stalk above the three leaves; the “nodding” group has its flower stalk below the leaves, and the “sessile” group lacks a flowering stalk. Each species has a characteristic rate of seed production and percent germination, but, depending on the species, five to ten years are required for a trillium seed to grow into a flowering plant. White trilliums need to grow for 15 years before they flower. Removal of flowers and leaves can kill the plant or weaken the roots so that blooming will not reoccur for up to seven years. In urban areas, housing developments and garlic mustard, an invasive plant, are taking over trillium habitat.
Picking Trillium flowers can seriously injure the plant. The three leaves below the flower are the plant’s only food source and a picked trillium may die or take many years to recover. It is illegal to pick them in Michigan, New York, Oregon, Washington and Canada’s British Columbia.
The wild trilliums of forest floors are free for the taking, but the cost is prohibitive. The risk of losing these beautiful, bashful treasures is too great to accept. Gardeners who want to cherish a trillium at home must be responsible, never transplanting a wild trillium from its natural home and purchasing only captive grown trilliums or those harvested during wildflower rescue operation. Plant suppliers know if their trilliums have been grown or simply stolen from their natural habitat. Responsible gardeners should save their money for responsible plant suppliers.
The trouble with trilliums is they are too pretty and too vulnerable. The trouble for trilliums is the fingers and feet of admirers. Whatever it costs to buy the beauties from growers instead of harvesters is a bargain. It’s the cost of admission to their spectacular annual spring show, a show that could easily disappear and never be seen in the wild again. Leaves of three, let them be, forever. PL
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