large white trillium

Trillium grandiflorum is a perennial that grows from a short rhizome and produces a single, showy white flower atop a whorl of three leaves. Flowering stems are 20–40 cm (8–16 in) tall. The leaves are often called bracts as the "stem" is then considered a peduncle (the rhizome is the stem proper, aboveground shoots of a rhizome are branches or peduncles); the distinction between bracts (found on pedicels or peduncles) and leaves (borne on stems). A single rootstock will often form clonal colonies, which can become very large and dense.

The erect, odorless flowers are large, especially compared to other species of Trillium, with 4 to 7 cm (1.5 to 3 in) long petals, depending on age and vigor. The petals are shaped much like the leaves and curve outward. They have a visible venation, though this is not as heavily marked as on the leaves. Their overlapping bases and curve give the flowers a distinctive funnel shape. Between the veined petals, three acuminate (ending with a long point) sepals are visible; they are usually a paler shade of green than the leaves, and are sometimes streaked with maroon. The flowers are perched on a pedicel (i.e., flower stalk) raising them above the leaf whorl, and grow pinker as they age. The flowers' stigmas are slender, straight or mostly so, narrowing at the end. The white petals are much longer than the green sepals. …

Trillium grandiflorum favors well-drained, neutral to slightly acid soils, usually in second- or young-growth forests. In the Northern parts of its range it shows an affinity for maple or beech forests, but has also been known to spread into nearby open areas. Depending on geographical factors, it flowers from late April to early June, just after Trillium erectum. Like many forest perennials, Trillium grandiflorum is a slow growing plant. Its seeds have double dormancy, meaning they normally take at least two years to fully germinate. The seeds are dispersed in late summer, germinating after a cold and then a warm period, producing a root and after another winter the seedling's cotyledon emerges from the soil. Like most species of Trillium, flowering age is determined largely by the surface of the leaf and size of the rhizome instead of age alone. Because growth is very slow in nature, T. grandiflorum typically requires seven to ten years in optimal conditions to reach flowering size, which corresponds to a minimum of 36 cm2 (5.6 sq in) of leaf surface area and 2.5 cm3 (0.15 cu in) of rhizome volume. In cultivation, however, wide disparity of flowering ages are observed.

Pollination and seed dispersal. …

The leaves were cooked and eaten by some Native Americans. The subterranean rootstalks were also chewed for various medical purposes.

Trillium grandiflorum is one of the most popular trilliums in cultivation, primarily because of the size of its flowers and its relative ease of cultivation. Although not particularly demanding, its cultivation is a slow and rather uncertain process, due to usually slow growth, wide variations in growth speed and sometimes capricious germination rates. As a result, the vast majority of plants and rhizomes in commerce are collected in the wild, and such heavy collecting, combined with other pressures such as habitat destruction and grazing, may effectively endanger the plants in some areas. This also creates tensions between Trillium enthusiasts and conservation proponents. Transplantation (as with almost all non-weedy wild plants) is a delicate process, and in many cases results in the death of the plant. In cultivation, T. grandiflorum may flower in as little as 4 to 5 years after germination (compared to the usual 7 to 10 in the wild), but these cases appear to be exceptions rather than the rule. However, barring plant destruction, T. grandiflorum can continue flowering every year after it has begun. It is winter hardy in USDA zones 4-8. A double-flowered cultivar, T. grandiflorum 'Pamela Copeland', was introduced to cultivation at the Mount Cuba Center and named for Mrs. …

The large white trillium is a well-known and popular American flower. The Trillium species most often observed by citizen scientists is T. grandiflorum. The flower's common name, wake-robin, was the title of American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs's first essay collection, Wake-Robin.

As a particularly conspicuous forest flower, T. grandiflorum was designated the provincial floral emblem of Ontario in 1937 (Floral Emblem Act), and as the state wild flower of Ohio in 1987. Professional soccer teams from Toronto and Columbus compete for the Trillium Cup every year. As an official symbol of Ontario, a stylized trillium flower features prominently in the wordmark of the Government of Ontario and on the official flag of the province's French-speaking minority. Government agencies and programs also frequently incorporate the word "trillium" in their names, such as the Trillium Gift of Life Network (organ donation management agency) and the Trillium Book Award (an annual literary award sponsored by the provincial government). It is also frequently used by the Canadian Heraldic Authority to represent Ontario in grants of arms. Although a network of laws make picking wildflowers illegal in the province on any Crown or provincially owned land, it is not, unlike widely believed, specifically illegal (or necessarily harmful) to pick the species in Ontario.