Flower

As you may have noticed, I added a photo of a Trillium to the blog . I thought I'd also let you know a bit about the flower Trillium is named after, so here goes:

Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class:Lilliopsida
Order:Liliales
Family:Melanthiaceae
Genus:Trillium

"This elegant spring flower blooms about the same time as robins return, thus, the name "wake-robin". The plant is called a "trillium" because the flower parts occur in threes, along with a whorl of three, broad, egg-shaped leaves. The single, large, white flower, up to 10 cm (4 in.) across, perches upright at the top of a stout 10 cm - 40 cm (4 - 16 in.) high stalk. Three white petals form the flower, with three green sepals beneath. At the flower's centre are six stamens and a six-lobed ovary with three styles. The white petals fade over time to a dull pinkish purple, becoming slightly transparent."
"Picking the flowers of Trillium can seriously injure the plant. The three leaves below the flower are the plant's only food source and a picked trillium may die or take many years to recover. For this reason in many areas, e.g. British Columbia, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Washington, it is illegal to pick trilliums. While a popular belief is held that it is illegal to pick the common Trillium grandiflorum (white trillium) in Ontario, no such law actually exists. However, the Trillium flexipes (drooping trillium) is protected by law in Ontario, where it maintains its very small Canadian population."
"The white trillium has been Ontario's provincial floral emblem since 1937. Its white blossom is associated with peace and hope."

(The above information was gathered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium and http://plantwatch.sunsite.ualberta.ca/plants/whi_tri.php )


I found the photo with the help of google, from this site: lakelandcc.edu/biophoto/trillium.htm