Trillium Grandiflorum and Urban Myths

The Trilliums are coming is the news the forest has been announcing all week. Every day I have been for at least a short walk through one of three forests in and around my town. I have really enjoyed seeing all the earlier more subtle flowers because when the trilliums come everything else becomes invisible in the sea of white that the forest floor becomes. It will reach that climax in about a week. We have mainly two species in our forests the well known trillium grandiflorum ( thus named by one of my heros Linneus) and the trillium erectum (known commonly as the red trillium and I think the name is a misnomer because the ones I saw were not erect at all ). The white trillium has been the provincial flower of Ontario since 1937. Here is where the urban myth story begins. I was always taught that it was illegal to pick trilliums growing in the wild in Ontario. Well today in doing a little research for this post I discovered that there is no such law and this common knowledge is really just an urban myth. It isn't that I want to pick them because I adhere to the general principles of stewardship to leave only my footprints and take only memories (and pictures of course) from the wilderness but I also don't want to perpetuate non truths to my children. I also discovered today that trilliums are edible and that they were used to treat gynecological problems in many North American first nation tribes . The trillium root was considered to be a sacred female herb .

Comments

[Caroline Inckle]

Amazing pictures!
So glad you're embroideries arrived safe and sound.
Caroline
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[Kelli Lusk]

I had never heard about Trillium Grandiflorum before. Do you know if it grows in the United States. I live in North Carolina. You took some beautiful pictures.

[rebekah]

thats just an urban myth?! you have had me believing that my whole life ;)

[Elsita]

This is the first time I hear about the Trillium Grandiflorum Margie and I am so glad that you wrote this post about it. It looks really beautiful in the pictures.The color is amazing. As always you take amazing photos!
Elsita :)