Out On A Limb / October 2005

Tempting Trilliums

The elegant wildflower Trillium, is a genus of flowering perennial herbs in the lily family. Its white blossom is associated with peace and hope. There are over thirty eight varieties in North America and Asia, and none in Europe. The white trillium occurs in every county in Ohio. In Canada, it has been Ontario’s provincial floral emblem since 1937. When Trillium blooms appear in Clendenin, West Virginia, they are also flowering in Portland, Oregon and Sapporo, Japan. All five Japanese species were probably derived from a single introduction whose ancestors were in North America. The closest relative of the eastern Trillium undulatum (“Painted trillium”) lives in the rhododendron forest of northern India and Nepal.

White trillium grows from a short, thick rhizome, an underground stem, and forms colonies, sometimes growing in great profusion, creating a carpet of white in the forest. However, thoughtless picking of the delicate flower, grazing of woodlots, logging, land development and improper use of herbicides is making Trillium increasingly scarce.

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. Excessive deer numbers also can affect trillium survival. In areas heavily trafficked by deer, trilliums die out at about 12 years because of repeated animal browsing. In urban areas, housing developments and garlic mustard, an invasive plant, are taking over trillium habitat. And, trilliums are favored by woodchucks.

Throughout the northern hemisphere, trillium habitat is varied, from the wet cypress swamps of Florida’s panhandle, to hot volcanic slopes with Ponderosa pine in Idaho, and maple-beech forests with bamboo in northern Japan. But, generally, trilliums thrive in rich, moist soil, in well-drained woods with semi shade.

White trillium flowers from early April to early June, depending on location and altitude, sometimes occurring with red trillium or stinking Benjamin (Trillium erectum). White trillium will open its flowers just after the red trillium opens.

This ephemeral spring flower blooms about the same time robins return, and has often been called “wake-robin”. The plant is called “trillium” because the flower parts occur in threes, along with a whorl of three, broad, egg-shaped leaves. The solitary pink, purplish, or yellow-white flowers have three sepals, three petals, six stamens, and a solitary pistil. The fruit is a berry. The painted trillium bears white flowers streaked with purple; purple trillium bears purplish-red flowers. White Trillium grandiflorum or wake-robin, nodding trillium and dwarf white trillium, bear white flowers that may fade to pink.

White trillium flowers produce nectar that attracts pollinators. Fleshy, berry like fruits then form and open when mature, slowly discharging seeds. The seeds have an “ant snack” attached, which attracts ants who disperse the seeds. An oily appendage, the elaiosome, or antsnack, covers half the seed and equals it in volume. The elaiosome has a chemical attractant that drives ants into a feeding frenzy. Ants take the seeds to their nests, eat the ‘snack’, and discard the seeds in their tunnels where the seeds germinate in large numbers. Chipmunks and insects, like wasps, also consume trillium fruits and disperse seed, but because dispersal distances are small, trillium populations expand slowly.

Trillium age can often be determined by counting rings on the rhizome, up to about 26 rings. Older rings are generally lost or obscured.

Precious ephemerals like Trillium and Lady’s Slipper, are not recommended for gardens. The loss of wild plants threatens the biodiversity of forests and the survival of the flowers themselves. And, it is difficult to find an ethical source of the plant. Since trilliums can take fifteen years to flower, they aren’t economical for commercial greenhouses to grow. When there’s a demand to buy this plant, some nurseries will take trilliums from the forest.

The Trillium genus dates back thirty million years and numerous other forest floor herbs are often found with Trillium. Their evolution and role in the forests is still under intense study.
Fragile, flowering trilliums should be enjoyed in their natural habitat, without stepping through them. Transplanting trillium from the forest to the garden is too risky for the plant and the ecosystem, but if a gardener is VERY patient, trillium can be started from seed. PL, MG

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