Purple Trillium

Trillium erectum

Family Liliaceae

Brief Description: Petals are normally maroon, although they can be white, yellow, or green; they are lanceolate to lance-ovate or seldom ovate; 1-2.5 inches in length. The peduncle is maroon to cream colored. Foul-smelling.

Blooms in April and May.

Geographic Range: From Quebec and Ontario to Maryland and Ohio and reputedly northeast Illinois, south to the mountains of North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Habitat: Moist woods

Garden Use: One of the most beautiful flowers in the garden.

Historic Uses: As with Nodding Trillium, this is another ill-scented "Benjamin"; it is said that simply smelling this flower can make the nose bleed.