By Saundra McBrearty, Outreach and Volunteer Specialist
Now is the time to enjoy wildflowers blooming along the forest floor, so make sure to hike a woodland trail over the next couple of weeks. And as you do, look for the blooming large white trillium, Ohio’s official state wildflower. The trillium is so named because nearly all parts of the plant comes in sets of three. It has three broad leaves on each stalk, three small green sepals, and three large white petals surrounding a group of yellow stamens. It also has seedpods that are divided into three sections.
Trillium seeds are spread by ants. They have a fleshy organ that produces small fruits, which the ants take to their nest. They eat this fruit, and then put the seeds in their “garbage,” where they germinate in the rich growing environment.
Trillium plants are long-lived, thriving up to 25 years. However, they are a favorite food of white-tailed deer and suffer at the hands of people picking them for their beautiful flowers. Picking trillium injures the plant by preventing them from producing food. The lack of food prohibits new growth the following spring. Digging up the plant to transplant to a home garden results in the plant dying as well due to the plant’s dependency on specific woodland soil conditions.
Enjoy your hike and the beautiful flowers along the trail. And, to ensure many other park visitors can enjoy them too, please take only pictures and memories of these beautiful flowers with you!
