Great White Trillium

Trillium grandiflorum

Family Liliaceae

Brief Description: Flowers are borne singly; three showy petals usually white, turning pink with age; obovate or elliptic in shape; 1.5-3 inches in length. 6-8 inches tall. The ovate dark green leaves, 2-6 inches long arise at the top of a solitary stem in a whorl of three.

Blooms in April and May.

Geographic Range: From Quebec and Maine to Minnesota, south to Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and in the mountains to northern Georgia and northeast Alabama.

Habitat: Rich, moist woods that are well drained with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. Found in shade, but not the dense shade of evergreens.

Propagation: Five to six weeks after flowering, pinch open a berry and if the seeds are dark or beginning to darken, collect the berries. Remove the seeds and sow immediately, or to store for a short time, pack the berries in damp whole-fiber sphagnum moss in a sealed container and refrigerate. Sow in a shaded outdoor bed with plenty of humus and keep evenly moist during the growing season.

Garden Use: A spectacular wildflower which is effectively displayed in mass plantings. It is short lived when planted out of its Habitat.

Historic Uses: The Menomini Indians used the root to reduce swelling of the eye. A nice cooked green in a salad.