A quintuplet Trillium 

 Theodori-: B. Rlhoff 



The Wanderbird Hiking Club of Washington, D. C, made 

 a trip on May 1, 1938, to the Shenandoah National Park, 

 X'irginia. We climbed Old Rag Mountain searching for rare 

 flowers, particularly Trilliums. On the ascent we found a few 

 showy Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) but it was on our 

 descent at an elevation of approximately 2,500 feet that I 

 made a thrilling discovery. About two feet from the trail 

 growing in a dry sandy loam, among small pieces of granite, I 

 found a very double greenish white flower with fifteen petals. 

 I called to my companion, Dr. Titus Ulke, the Wanderbird 

 naturalist, who was several yards back of me on the trail, 

 to come quickly to see what I had found. He called it a quin- 

 tuplet Trillium. While digging the specimen for The National 

 Herbarium, Dr. Ulke went further afield and found a second 

 specimen, which he unfortunately lost on the way down the 

 mountain. I presented my specimen to The National Her- 

 barium, where it may now be seen. 



The root became detached, so I have planted it in my garden 

 and if I am fortunate enough to have it come through and 

 bloom, I intend to present it to our Botanical Gardens, hoping 

 to preserve this rare Trillium, and place it where all may see it. 



The stem of the plant was 30 cm. high and bore nine leaves 

 from 9 to 9.5 cm. long. The peduncle was 7.5 cm. long. There 

 were six linear sepals and five whorls of petals, three in a whorl, 

 linear-oblong, about 3.5 cm. long, 9-11 mm. wide, greenish 

 white, with pink veins and a green stripe on the underside. 



Takoma Park, Md. 



(Theodore Ruhoff is a young botanist of 15 years. Editor.) 



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