Large Flowered Trillium

Large Flowered Trillium, April 19, 2005
Large Flowered Trillium blooms during mid-spring. Usually the leaves of trees overhead are just starting to grow. Looking up, you can see the green speckled branches, but the leaves have not finished growing and casting shade across the forest floor. Each Large Flowered Trillium reaches a height of about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm), and has a single large white or pale pink flower above a whorl of three leaves. Each flower blooms for several days, and continues to get darker pink (and more tattered) as time goes by. Eventually the petals shrivel up and turn darkish pink and brown as the plant begins to make seeds.
There are several species of trillium, all with the same general shape, but some have darker (maroon-burgandy, or yellow) flowers and some species are smaller. The smallest one I know of is Snow Trillium (3 inches high). Snow Trillium is one of my favorite--and gets its name due to its timing and appearance. It is one of the very first flowers to bloom each spring, often before the final scattering of snow. Snow Trillium can fill a hillside with white speckles, resembling scattered snow.