30 PURPLE TRILLIUM. 



" Few of our indigenous i)lants surpiiss the Trillium in elegance 

 and beauty, and they are all endowed with valuable medicinal pro- 

 perties. The root of the Pur[)le Trillium is generally believed to be 

 the most active. Tannin and Bitter Extract form two of its most 

 remarkable ingredients." So says that intelligent writer on the 

 medicinal plants of North America, Dr. Charles Lee. There arc 

 three of the dark flowered Trillium enumerated by Gray, two of 

 which appear to be common to our Canadian soil, T. erectum and 

 T. sessile. The latter is smaller, and olten the dull chocolate colour 

 of the pointed petals assumes a livid greenish hue. It is earlier in 

 flowering, appearing at the beginning of May, at the same time with 

 T. nivale, the " Dwarf White" or " Snowy Trillium." 



Under cultivation the flowers of all the species become very 

 ornamental; they require black leaf mould and moderate shade, 

 and, if left to grow undisturbed, increase and continue to flower year 

 after year, in the borders or shrubbery. 



The seeds when ripe are easily obtained; they are hard and 

 l)ony, several in each division of the three celled capsule. The roots 

 of these plants are thick, wrinkled, fleshy, and contain the medicinal 

 principle described by Dr. Lee. 



