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White Trillium

White Trilliums are one of several species of trillium that call our region home. These graceful members of the lily family are calciphiles - that is they thrive only on soils high in calcium - therefore the presence of these plants in the forest indicates that limestone is fairly close to the surface.

Like their much more common relatives the Red Trilliums this species was used medicinally by our local Indian tribes and the European settlers who displaced them to ease the pains of labor, hence it's other name of Birthroot. Taken in the last few weeks of pregnancy Trillium root (of all species) helps coordinate uterine contractions making labor more efficient and much quicker.

These striking and showy wildflowers are easily grown in the home shade garden provided you give the plants generous amounts of lime. I add a heaping handful whenever I transplant individual plants and afterwards add a top dressing of lime annually early each spring. Once a high lime bed is established these plants will self seed. Their bulb-like corms also form offsets which can be separated from the mother plant and thereby increase their numbers vegetatively as well.

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