The trillium
The white trillium has been the provincial flower of Ontario since 1937.
The name 'trillium' comes from the Latin for 'three'. The plant has large, often white, three-petaled flowers above three broad bracts that look like leaves. They are members of the lily family.
Sometimes the white trillium is called the 'wake robin' as it appears around the same time the robins return to Ontario. I'm not sure I agree with that as we have robins in the garden now, but can't see the gardens because they are still covered in snow.
Sometimes the white trillium is called the 'wake robin' as it appears around the same time the robins return to Ontario. I'm not sure I agree with that as we have robins in the garden now, but can't see the gardens because they are still covered in snow.
It is wonderful to be on a walk through a wooded area in May and come across a huge patch of trilliums moving gently in the breeze.
The root stalk of the plants were used by First Nation Peoples to cure a variety of aliments. They collected them and chewed on them. The Purple Trillium was used by herbalists to treat gangrene.
Trilliums love to grow in the shade. They prefer rich, moist but well drained soil. The blooms do not survive if picked and the plant does not transplant well. You might be lucky to grow them from seed. In mid summer green berry like seeds develop and a sticky oil substance drop to the ground. New plants will grow from these but they will attract ants. The ants take the seeds to another part of the forest, eat off the oil and leave the seeds and a new plant grows in a new location.
This red trillium is one that I grew in my garden last year. I'm not sure if it will grow again this spring and I will be eagerly awaiting the early days in May to see if it survived.
Other Canadian bloggers are posting about their provincial wildflowers and you can find the links on The Gallery Of Official Flowers. You can also see all of Canada's provincial flowers here, but garden bloggers posts are much more interesting.
GardenJoy4 has added some interesting info about trilliums.
Labels: trillium
GardenJoy4 has added some interesting info about trilliums.
Labels: trillium
10 friendly comments:
Nice post, Crafty. Your red trillium should come back just fine, and should also start multiplying gradually. They aren't real fast to establish clumps, but once they do, they're here.
I have the yellow one too, which I bought several years ago from a nursery who had sourced plants grown from seed or cuttings, not wildcrafted.They aren't as showy as the red, white and painted ones, but their foliage is gorgeous, mottled with grey green.
Hi Crafty .. I have a few Trilliums as well .. I love them .. my white one is nice and big usually .. but my red one is smaller and more delicate too. It wouldn't be an Ontario garden without them though !
Joy
What species is that red Trillium? I've never seen one like it here in Northern Illinois. It's beautiful.
Nice post on our provincial flower, Crafty. I have some white trillium and a red one in my gardens. I've had the white ones for about fifteen years. I started with one and they've gradually multiplied from that one's seed. For years I had one flower and lots of leaves -- apparently it takes 7 or 8 years for a trillium to flower after the seed is planted.
I've had the red one for 4 or 5 years, so still only one flower.
Te reason you're not supposed to pick them is because the flower and leaf are both attached to the stem. Pick the leaf and no energy from the sun is made into food for the bulb and so usually the bulb dies.
Beautiful trilliums Crafty, I don't have any in my garden but always visit my known spots each spring to see Painted , White , Red and Nodding trilliums here in my neck of the woods. I have never found a yellow one, not sure if they grow in our area. We do have a large population of pink Lady's Slippers and I have also had a few spots with white Lady's Slipper and only once saw a Yellow one.
Love the photos of the trilliums. I haven't seen the red ones for years, but they used to grow in the woods near our home in the country. As a child we would always look for red and white trillums in spring - also adder tongues and hypaticas. (sp?)
Thanks for sharing. I have my Green Thumb Sunday post up and guess what? My snowdrops are blooming.
Blessings,
Mary
I'm sorry Mr. Mcgregors's Daughter, but I don't know the name of the red trillium. I hunted through my tags/notes/seed box but couldn't find the info on it. I have a feeling there might be a tag in the ground but of course it is still snow covered.
You are lucky having your snowdrops up Mary. I'll be looking for your GTS post.
Thanks for all the trillium info! I have 3 or 4 varieties, and the white one I actually managed to transplant from my woods to my garden area, but I got a HUGE shovel full of dirt with them. They do form colonies slowly but surely, and hopefully one day I'll actually have "too many" :)
Being raised on a farm in Ontario, about 60 miles north of Toronto, we had a huge forest at the back end of our farm with a beautiful river running through it.
I use to see thousands of Trilliums but then I moved to the east coast and haven't seen one in more than 30 years.
Your picture brought back a lot of great memories of my brother and I running and playing in that forest.
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