122 WILD FLOWER FAMILIES 



esting of all the early spring wild flowers. It is 

 not a very widely distributed species, being found 

 from " Pennsylvania to Ohio, south to Kentucky 

 and Iowa." Within these limits, however, it is 

 decidedly local, occurring only here and there in 

 woods and along river banks. In appearance it 

 seems much like a miniature reproduction of the 

 common Large-flowered Wakerobin, from which 

 it differs chiefly in its smaller size and in the pres- 

 ence of petioles upon its leaves. The plant rarely 

 reaches a height of more than six inches. The 

 petals are pure white; the blossom has a short 

 stalk ; the fruit is a three-lobed roundish berry. 

 In Ohio I have found it blossoming in March, 

 when it well deserved its Latin name, Trillium 

 nivale — the Snowy Trillium — for it was in bloom 

 before the snow had disappeared. 



White Trillium. In my boyhood days in 

 central Michigan the White Trillium or Large- 

 flowered Wakerobin was the wild flower of May. 

 The woods were full of the beautiful blossoms 

 which we all loved to gather and to bring home, 

 where they retained their freshness for several 

 days. Since then, while living in other states 

 where this flower does not grow, the name Wake- 

 robin alwavs carries me back to those Beech 

 woods and it is only by an afterthought that I 

 can connect the name with the other Trilliums to 

 which it is applied. 



