trek for trilliums

By Teresa Woodard

Crunching on the dead leaves of winter on a stroll through the woods, the hunt for Ohio’s state wildflower, the white trillium, begins. As hikers return to the plant’s familiar home, the showy white flowers blanket the slope. Yes, spring has returned to Ohio.

Botanically know as the Trillium grandiflorum, the white trillium is coaxed into bloom in April and May by spring’s increasing amount of daylight. The wildflower is abundant throughout the state and presents the greatest displays in old-growth forests.

According to Wildflowers of Ohio, the name trillium comes from the Latin word tres, meaning three. The flower’s parts are found in sets of three – three petals, three sepals and three large leaves. The white blooms fade to pale pink as they age.

Trilliums are also called wake robins, which suggest that their flowering signals the robins’ waking in spring, an idea consistent with eighteenth-century beliefs that northern birds hibernated.

Trilliums are perennials which sprout each season from small (two to three centimeters) deeply buried, irregularly shaped rhizomes. Like all spring woodland flowers, their early growth takes advantage of spring’s abundant sunshine before forest trees leaf out. During this brief time in the sun, the trillium must create enough energy for growth, flowering and seed development, as well as store sufficient energy in the rhizome for next season’s start.

Old mountain sayings claim that if you pick a trillium, you will cause rain. Such superstitions aside, Jane Rogers, a wildflower consultant to the Governor’s Residence, encourages Ohioans to enjoy trilliums in their natural setting and never pick them. She said it will weaken the plant. For the past 10 or more years, Rogers and fellow members of the Akron Garden Club have rescued 70,000 wildflowers, transferring them from threatened habitats to protected parks and preserves. Since trilliums are difficult to propagate commercially, she advises gardeners to check the source before buying trilliums. Some are harvested illegally, while others are sold by credible rescue operations.

Ohio's state parks and nature preserves are among the best places to view the state's numerous species of wildflowers in their natural settings. In addition to the Trillium grandiflorum, Ohio is home to five other varieties of trilliums. They include the red trillium, painted trillium, sessile trillium, drooping trillium and snow trillium.

“Trilliums are fairly common in Ohio’s woodlands,” said Heidi Hetzel-Evans, public information officer, Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. “If you hike in moist woodlands, you’re bound to find trillium.” Among her recommendations for large spreads of trillium are Howard Collier State Nature Preserve (Seneca Co.), Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve (Jackson Co.), Davey Woods State Nature Preserve (Champagne Co.), Hueston Woods State Park (Preble Co.), Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve (Richland Co.), Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve (Portage Co.) and Highbanks Metro Park (Franklin and Delaware Co.).

“The one thing with trillium is that if the deer get there before you do, you may find they’ve been eaten,” Hetzel-Evans said. She said parks that are over-populated with deer are most vulnerable to this problem.

In addition to deer, trilliums were popular with Native Americans and pioneers. According to Ohio Historical Society records, trilliums’ medical applications included calming stomach disorders and aiding in pregnancy and childbirth. One legend suggests that a young Indian maiden went to slip a love potion of the trillium root into a desired chief’s son’s food. One her way, she tripped and mistakenly spilled it into the dish of an old brave who later relentlessly fell for her.

The Trillium grandiflorum was been the state’s wildflower for only 20 years. Ann Malmquist, founding president of the Ohio Native Plant Society, was instrumental in securing the flower’s position. This Akron resident recalls native plant enthusiasts were annoyed that the cultivated red carnation was the state flower. The commercially-grown flower had been selected to honor Ohio president William McKinley who favored the flower and wore it in the buttonhole of his lapel.

Rather than propose the state change its flower, Malmquist worked with state legislators on a bill to add the trillium as the state’s wildflower. Malmquist said the trillium was selected because it was found throughout the state and was easily recognizable. On Dec. 4, 1986, Gov. Richard F. Celeste signed into law an act making the Trillium grandiflorum Ohio’s official state wildflower.

Step into Ohio’s woodland’s this spring to discover the beauty Malmquist and other Ohioans have come to appreciate in our state’s wildflower.

Teresa Woodard is a freelance writer from Franklin County.

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