It's hard to believe you could find a place like Rockwoods Reservation in busy west St. Louis County. But it's a sample of the Ozarks right in the middle of the suburbs.
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Scientific Name
Trillium sessile
Family
Liliaceae (lilies); also placed in Melanthiaceae (bunchflowers) and Trilliaceae (trilliums)
Description
Flowers solitary, arising stemless from a whorl of leaves. Colors variable: brown, brown-purple, maroon, brick-red, brownish-yellow, greenish-yellow, greenish, or a mixture with green. Flower with 3 sepals and 3 petals; upright; to about 2 inches tall. Blooms April–June. Leaves 3 in a whorl, topping a bare stalk to 1 foot tall, ovate, pointed, sessile (lacking leaf stalks), dark green with or without grayish mottling. Root a short rhizome. Fruits many-seeded berries.
Missouri has 7 species in the genus Trillium. Purple trillium (T. recurvatum) is similar to T. sessile, but the sepals curve downward as the flower opens, and the leaves have a distinct, short stem; it is the most common trillium in eastern Missouri. Green trillium (T. viride) is taller, with sepals spread outward; petals erect, to 3 inches long, green or yellow; leaves broadly lance-shaped or nearly round, green or mottled; common in southwestern and east-central Missouri.
Size
Height: 8–12 inches.
Where To Find
Statewide; common in all but the northern third of the state; apparently absent from the Mississippi Lowlands of the Bootheel.
Habitat and Conservation
Wooded slopes and bottomlands in moist, rich soil. Trilliums are popular in shade gardens but are difficult to grow from seed. This has led to unethical collecting from the wild. However, many plants do not survive transplanting. Please be aware of the sources for your plants, and insist on nursery-grown plants from cultivated stocks.
Status
Common names include “wake robin,” “trillium” and “toadshade.” “Trillium,” of course, matches the genus name, the same way the names “geranium,” “iris,” and “forsythia” do.
Human Connections
Some species of trilliums were used historically in herbal medicine, but the most common human use of these flowers is in gardening. Please don’t collect from the wild, however. Instead, buy nursery-cultivated plants from reputable sellers.
Ecosystem Connections
The flowers of this species have a fetid aroma, presumably to attract flies and other such pollinators.
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Media Gallery
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Credit
Julianna Schroeder
Right to Use
Photo by Julianna Schroeder, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Credit
Julianna Schroeder
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Photo by Julianna Schroeder, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Caption
Early Growth Trillium in Cape Girardeau County
Credit
Submitted by Russell Grammer
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Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Caption
Wake Robin in Eureka MO
Credit
Submitted by Denise Kramer
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Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Credit
Submitted by Warren Joyce
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Use of this image is restricted to MDC only on this page
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Similar Species
Similar Species
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Where to See Species
Hungry Mother Conservation Area was purchased in April of 1962.
About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri
A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows — weeds and wildflowers — and many more!