THS 



BOTANIST. 



Vol. I. 



BINGHAMTON, N. Y.. APRIL i, 1S91. 



No. IV. 



TRILLIUMS. 



BY wiLLARD n: clute, binghamton, n. y. 



Iri May, our Northern woods hold no flowers 

 more beautiful and interesting than the various 

 trilliums or wake-robins. The first glance at the 

 bright, lily-shaped blossoms excites our admi- 

 ration which is increased by a closer study of 

 the plant. Excepting the blood-root and dog- 

 tooth violet, they are the first flowers of any 

 size to bloom in spring. Nature is lavish of 

 these floral treasures; I have traveled, for miles, 

 through a forest that has never heard the ring of 

 the woodsman's axe, and found these flowers in 

 abundance the whole distance— miles of teauty 

 thrown away. 



Although the trilliums are essentially flOwers of 

 the deep, rich woodlands, they are found in the 

 more open places, also. When cultivation ap- 

 proaches they slowly ' dissapear, the last strag- 

 glers being found in the bushy growths along 

 streams. 



The generic name, trillium, comes from a 

 Latin word meaning triple, and is singularly aps-' 

 propriate as all parts of the plant are in threes — 

 three leaves, sepals, petals etc. The large, ovate 

 leaves spring, from the summit of the rather 

 thick' stalk j- and fi'om their midst rises the pe- 

 duncle bearing the single flower. Digging down, 

 the root is found to be a curious fleshy rhizome 

 which ends abruptly below, as if bitten off. At 

 the crown of this root-stock, in autumn, may be 

 found the next season's flowers, complete even 

 to the stamens, which may be seen with the un- 

 aided eye. 



The trilliums are often called lillies, and not 

 without reason, for some botanists class the two 

 together. As they bloom about Easter they are 

 occasionally called Easter lillies. The name 



wake-robin, by which the flowers are commonly 

 known, is evidently a fanciful designation from 

 over the seas. A species of Arum from Europe 

 is called by the same name. Sometimes, also, 

 the trilliums are called birth-root and three- 

 leaved night-shade — names given them probably, 

 from their supposed medicinal properties. 



Our commonest trillium is the great-flowered 

 white tiillium (Trillium grandiflorum) which 

 grows as far south as Pennsylvania. The plant 

 bears very large pure white flowers and is the 

 most lily-like of its genus. As the blossoms 

 grow old, the petals turn rose-colored,^w^ich so 

 changes its appearance that it is often mistaken 

 for a new variety. 



The purple trillium or bath flower (T. erec- 

 tum) is the species commonly called birth-root, 

 and grows chiefly in the North. The flowers 

 are nearly as large as those of the preceeding, 

 but not so fine, the spreading petals being dusky- 

 purple, greenish on the outside. The flower is 

 usually only half erect, and sometimes it droops 

 beneath the leaves becoming almost invisible. 

 No other flower of its size can elude the eye so 

 well. None of the trilliums are fragrant, and 

 this one has a very dissagreeable odor on which 

 account it is not a general favorite. 



The most beautiful one of its kind, the smil- 

 ing wake-robin or painted trillium (T. erythro- 

 carpum), is found in low, wet woods and bogs. 

 It is not so common as the others, and the flow- 

 er, at first, seems nothing more than the ordi- 

 nary white one; but deep down in the corolla 

 the petals are veined with numerous pencilings 

 of purple. If this mark did not distinguish it 

 from the rest, one could easily identify it by the 

 leaves, which are petiolate in this variety, but 

 sessile in the others. After the petals have 

 withered, the fruit, a large red berry, still makes 

 the plant beautiful. 



