Red Trillium

Red Trillium - In Three Colours

Red Trillium

The Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) is a common New Brunswick flower found on hardwood slopes and in rich woods.  It is found from Ontario to Nova Scotia south to New England, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and in the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia and Tennessee.  It has many common names including Purple Trillium, Stinking Benjamin, and Wake-Robin.

Red Trillium

The Red Trillium is our most common trillium.  The flower has a foul odour which attracts carrion flies which pollinate the flowers.  That is how it got another of its names, Stinking Benjamin.  The trillium was named for its anatomy - everything arranged in multiples of 3.  It has 3 leaves, 3 petals, 3 sepals, etc.  These are arranged in a triangle.  The flowers are about 6.3 cm/2.5" wide.  The petals are maroon or reddish brown.  The sepals are green.  There are 6 stamens.  The large ovate leaves are net-veined which is unusual for the lily family.  Most Liliaceae members have leaves with parallel veins.  After flowering, the plant produces a red berry.

The trilliums have been reclassified as a result of molecular phylogenetic studies.  They are have been moved from the Liliaceae family to the Melanthiaceae family along with some other lilioid species.  

Red Trillium - Pink Morph

According to Hinds in Flora of New Brunswick, the Red Trillium has been reported in numerous colours and in monstrous forms.  This post is a result of finding some of those unusual colours.  At one location in Keswick a friend and I found several Red Trilliums.  As we searched further we found a pink morph as shown in the photo above.  Further searching revealed also a white morph as shown below.  

Red Trillium - White Morph

Red Trilliums are early spring wild flowers and a delight to find when on a spring walk in the woods or along a stream.  Their name, Wake-Robin, implies an awakening of the landscape in spring and the red colour is named for the European Robin.