Scientific Name:
Trillium grandiflorum
Pronunciation:
TRIL-ee-um gran-dih-FLORE-um
Common Name:
great white trillium
Family Name:
Melanthiaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Key ID Features:
Spreading by short rhizomes; leaves sessile, a whorl of 3 on top of a smooth green stem, ovate, die back in summer; flower about 8cm wide, petals white fading to pink, margins wavy, most 4-7cm long x 2-4cm wide; capsules rounded with six slight ridges, green to brown.
Habit:
Spreading, Upright
Form:
Oval - horizontal
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.1 - 0.3m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Canada - eastern, U.S. - northeast
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 5: (-29 to -23 °C)
Exposure:
Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich, Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Spring interest, Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Whorled
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Heavily veined
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acuminate, Caudate
Bases:
Cuneate, Obtuse, Rounded
Margins:
Entire, Undulate (wavy)
Additional Info:
Botanically, the 3 "leaves" are flower bracts on top of a peduncle; venation is not typical for a monocot
Inflorescence Type:
Flowers solitary
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
3
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White, Pink (fades to pink after pollination)
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Fruit Type:
Capsule
Fruit Colour:
Green, Brown
Fruiting Time:
May, Jun
Additional Info:
Not showy,
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Rhizomes
Propagation:
Seed, Division - below ground parts
Pest Susceptibility:
Slugs or snails (Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
