Friday, February 25, 2011

Wildflower Wednesday... a little late

My Wildflower Wednesday posts will be late.
But that's okay, isn't it?


Trillium Recurvatum Beck
'Bloody Butcher' or 'Red Trillium'
(clicking on the botanical name will take you to a USDA informational site)

This is a true wildflower - and this particular plant has an interesting history.

This map and information were provided by the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.


The plant is an erect perennial from 8 - 16" tall with an unpleasant odor. The flower is 3-part, purple, and approximately 1" wide. The petals are slightly longer than the green sepals, blooming in April - May. The leaves are one whorl of three and usually mottled at the top of the stem. The plants thrive with moderate moisture - here seemingly primarily in woodlands.



In 2007, this little plant was sporting five spotted leaves and five flower petals. I couldn't resist planting it in my woodland garden to see what would happen! In 2008, it had 4 leaves and 4 petals. In 2009, it had the 3 leaves and three petals (as it should). However, in April 2010, it reverted to four leaves and petals. I wonder... will it revert to FIVE again this year??

For more Wildflower Wednesday posts, visit Gail at Clay and Limestone by clicking her link.


Nothing too "shady" about this shade-lover... just intrigue. :-)

9 comments:

Gail said...

Now that's a cool trillium. I do remember when you first wrote about it, but, hadn't remembered it was playing number games with you again:) I leave the WW post up for a few days~Just so everyone who want to may join in. xxgail

Rose said...

That's interesting that your trillium should have different numbers of leaves each year. I wonder why. Don't feel bad about being late--at least you participated; I've forgotten WW the past two months!

Anonymous said...

Trilliums are one of the flowers I long to grow, Shady Gardener - but I suspect that my summers, when they get tough, will simply be too hot for them. On the other hand, when I look at your map... continental America gets a lot tougher than we do in our temperate high altitude. But tell me - if it comes up five-parted again, won't you have a new species: a pentlium?? ;) Jack

Rosemary said...

Trillium is the provincal flower of Ontario. So lovely seeing them in the woods white and red ones..

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Gail, I couldn't help write about this trillium again. It's something to which I'm looking forward once Spring arrives!

Shady Gardener said...

Rose, in reading about these trillium, this is not an unusual occurrence. However, I think it's unusual to change so, every year. :-)

Shady Gardener said...

Dave, You have a beautiful blog, and it will be fun to see more of your South Africa posts. The flowers I've seen so far are beautiful!

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Rosemary, I look forward to acquiring the white trillium... I'm thinking that my Aunt MEA may have given me one last year... but do you think I was dreaming? ;-)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

That's an interesting looking plant. I like the bloom.