Trillium (Trillium)

Trilliums are members of the lily family. They comprise about 40-50 species. Typically relatively small forest-dwelling plants, they are usually found in the shade or in dappled sun. The genus Trillium means “three”—trilliums do most everything in threes, from the whorl of three bracts (modified leaves) below the flower, to the three-petaled and three-sepaled flowers. Take a look at this photographic overview of trilliums, or use the table below to help identify your specimen.

Trillium (Trillium) · A hybrid, (Trillium × spp.) · 5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (21 × 15 cm)

Trillium (Trillium) · 7/12/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, Wilmot/Warner, New Hampshire · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm)

(Trillium) · 7/14/2013 · Ball Hill Trail, Leominster State Forest, Leominster, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 7″ (19 × 18 cm) Species not yet identified

(Trillium) · This unusual variety has four leaves instead of three. You can also see the seeds in the fruit. · 8/16/2012 · Otter River State Forest, Nature Trail, Baldwinville, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 15 cm) Species not yet identified

Trillium (Trillium) · 4/26/2021 · Papermill Trail/Miller Park, Lisbon, Maine

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Liliales	Includes lilies, tulips, trilliums, greenbriars, and others
Family	Melanthiaceae	Trillium family
Genus	Trillium	“Three-petaled lily”

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