Trillium grandiflorum, the white trillium, large-flowered trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin or in French: trille blanc, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. A monocotyledonous, herbaceous perennial, the plant is native to eastern North America, from northern Quebec to the southern parts of the United States through the Appalachian Mountains into northernmost Georgia and west to Minnesota. There are also several isolated populations in Nova Scotia, Maine, southern Illinois, and Iowa. Trillium grandiflorum is most common in rich, mixed upland forests. It is easily recognized by its attractive three-petalled white flowers, opening from late spring to early summer, that rise above a whorl of three leaf-like bracts. It is an example of a spring ephemeral, a plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the deciduous woodland which it favours. White trillium often occurs in dense drifts of many individuals. The G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area in the Blue Ridge Mountains is renowned for an extensive stand of white trillium that blooms each spring. Over a two square mile area along the Appalachian Trail near Linden, Virginia there is a spectacular annual display of white trilliums estimated at near ten million individuals.
Description Trillium grandiflorum is a perennial that grows from a short rhizome and produces a single, showy white flower atop a whorl of three leaves. Flowering stems are 20–40 cm (8–16 in) tall. The leaves are often called bracts as the "stem" is then considered a peduncle (the rhizome is the stem proper, aboveground shoots of a rhizome are branches or peduncles); the distinction between bracts (found on pedicels or peduncles) and leaves (borne on stems). A single rootstock will often form clonal colonies, which can become very large and dense.
The erect, odorless flowers are large, especially compared to other species of Trillium, with 4 to 7 cm (1.5 to 3 in) long petals, depending on age and vigor. The petals are shaped much like the leaves and curve outward. They have a visible venation, though this is not as heavily marked as on the leaves. Their overlapping bases and curve give the flowers a distinctive funnel shape. Between the veined petals, three acuminate (ending with a long point) sepals are visible; they are usually a paler shade of green than the leaves, and are sometimes streaked with maroon. The flowers are perched on a pedicel (i.e., flower stalk) raising them above the leaf whorl, and grow pinker as they age. The flowers' stigmas are slender, straight or mostly so, narrowing at the end. The white petals are much longer than the green sepals. The flowers have six stamens in two whorls of three, which persist after fruiting. The styles are white and very short compared to the 9–27 mm (0.35–1.06 in) anthers, which are pale yellow, but become a brighter shade when liberating pollen due to the latter's color. The ovaries are six-sided with three greenish-white stigmas that are at first weakly attached, but fuse higher up. The fruit is a green, mealy and moist orb, and is vaguely six-sided like the ovary.
Taxonomy Trillium grandiflorum was first described by André Michaux in 1803 as variety grandiflorum of Trillium rhomboideum, a species now regarded as a synonym of Trillium erectum var. erectum. Michaux described the variety as having broadly rhombic leaves, large white petals, and black fruit. The epithet grandiflorum means "large-flowered", a name that well describes Michaux's variety. In 1805, Richard Anthony Salisbury elevated the variety to a full species. As a consequence, and partially by accident, Trillium grandiflorum is commonly known as the large-flowered white trillium. As of March 2023, the name Trillium grandiflorum (Michx.) Salisb. is widely recognized. The species is a member of the Grandiflorum group, a group of species typified by Trillium grandiflorum itself. The group, which also includes Trillium nivale and Trillium ovatum, is sister to a clade comprising subgenus Sessilia (the sessile-flowered trilliums) and subgenus Delostylis (the Catesbaei group).
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