Do you know the official wildflower of Ohio? In 1986, the Ohio General Assembly made the white trillium Ohio’s official wildflower. The white trillium, trillium grandiflorum, is also known as the wake robin, the snow trillium, the great white trillium or the large white trillium.
The General Assembly selected this wildflower because it exists in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. The Ohio native perennial blooms in early spring (April and May), occurring alone or in groups. They can be found in rich, moist shady or mostly shady environments, such as woodlands or deciduous woods.
The genus name, trillium comes from the Latin tres meaning three. That is a perfect designation because all parts are in threes. The flower has three white petals, three green sepals, six stamens, three stigmas and three leaves. Lilium is from the Latin lilaceous referring to the funnel-shaped flower, grandflorium from the Latin grandis meaning great and large and Flora, the goddess of flowers, referring to the large white flower. There are other trilliums, but this article is just describing trillium grandiflorum.
The single white flower is 2-4 inches wide and grows from a single stalk. The three wavy-edged, triangle-shaped white petals are set against three pointed, petal-like green sepals, which look like green petals. The petals turn pink with age.
The three large pointed toothless broad leaves are 3-6 inches long with veins that extend to the leaf’s edge.
Trillium grandiflorum has a short, thick rhizome from which the sheath enclosed scape (the stalk) of the inflorescence (flower) emerges from the ground to 12-18 inches tall.
The flower produces a single red berry about an inch wide. Ants disperse trillium seeds by taking them to their underground homes, but not eating them.
The trillium is a protected flower species that never should be picked or dug. This trillium grandiflorum is the largest trillium and most valuable species. The woodlands the trillium grows in should be preserved so that present and future generations will be able to enjoy this wildflower as one of the most valuable natural resources. It can be purchased from garden centers, but make sure the plants are cultivated from non-wild stock.
The largest threat to trilliums is the white-tailed deer and their increasing numbers through repeated grazing. Trilliums are a favored food by white-tailed deer. In the course of grazing, deer consume larger individuals, leaving shorter ones behind. This effects the understory growth in general. It also has been said that if the flower is picked, the plant dies.
The leaves of the trillium were once cooked and eaten by some Native Americans. The underground rootstalks were also chewed for various medical purposes.
