Specimen record
Red Trillium
Trillium erectum
Conservation note
Slow to reproduce — collect only the above-ground stem from large colonies. Never uproot the rhizome.
Description
A distinctive spring wildflower of rich mesic forests, red trillium bears a single dark maroon-red flower above a whorl of three broad leaves. The flower emits a faint unpleasant odor that attracts fly pollinators, earning it the folk name 'stinking Benjamin.' It grows slowly from a rhizome and can take seven or more years to reach flowering size from seed.
Identification tips
- 1All parts in threes: 3 petals, 3 sepals, 3 leaves in a single whorl
- 2Dark maroon-red petals (occasionally white or yellow forms occur)
- 3Flower held on a short stalk (pedicel) above the leaf whorl
- 4Unpleasant musty odor when flower is sniffed up close
- 5Broad, diamond-shaped sessile leaves with prominent veining
Specimen & preservation notes
Press the entire above-ground plant including the leaf whorl. Arrange leaves flat in a triangular pattern. The dark flower color preserves reasonably well when dried. Do not collect the rhizome — the plant takes years to mature and will not regenerate.
Habitats
Collection calendar
| Wk | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| 4 |
Collection notes
Season check
Observed bloom also extends into April.
Flowering records: 1186 iNaturalist observations, Massachusetts · Nearby: 85 observations within 25 km