,
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: green trillium
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Melanthiaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Native Range: Northern United States
Garden Location: Martha Love Symington Missouri Native Shade Garden
Height: 1 to 1.5 feet
Spread: 1 to 1.5 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Greenish, sometimes with yellow tinge
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Leaves: Colorful
Culture
Easily grown in rich, humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. Needs regular watering. Rhizomatous plant that is difficult to propagate from seed.
Noteworthy Characteristics
The trillium is a simple, graceful perennial that is one of the most familiar and beloved of the spring woodland wildflowers. Leaves, petals and sepals of all trilliums come in groups of three. This species, sometimes commonly called wood trillium, is a Missouri native that grows up to 15" high. An unbranched, naked stem is topped by three, evenly-spaced, sessile, lanceolate to rounded, dark green, hosta-like leaves (4" long) that are often mottled. The flower (2" high) features three erect, greenish petals (sometimes with a yellow tinge) and three narrow, greenish sepals and appears stalkless atop the center of the three-leaf whorl. A clump-forming plant with stems arising from thick, underground rhizomes which will spread slowly if left undisturbed. Foliage will usually die to the ground by mid-summer, particularly if the soil is allowed to dry out.
Garden Uses
A classic spring-blooming, woodland wildflower. Excellent when massed in a shaded woodland garden, naturalized area or wildflower garden. Mixes well with other spring wildflowers and ferns. Not recommended for the perennial border.