TOAD TRILLIUM 



Trillium sessile Linnaeus 



Unlike most other members of its group, this trillium has a rather 

 pleasant odor, but it does not approach other species in attractive- 

 ness, for its curious sessile flowers are dull in color. Normally the 

 petals are of a deep maroon color, but in some plants, which show 

 no differences, they are pale greenish yellow. It prefers deep, moist 

 woods, and is easily overlooked among the fresh growths of April 

 or May. 



Toad trillium is a typical member of the flora of the Middle Western 

 States, ranging from Mississippi to Florida, northward to Minnesota 

 and western New York; occasionally it crosses the Appalachian Moun- 

 tains and pushes down river valleys as far north as Maryland and south- 

 ernmost Pennsylvania. 



The specimen sketched grew on Plummers Island in the Potomac 

 River near Washington, District of Columbia. 



PLATE 2.3 



