About Trillium pusillum Michx.
Trillium pusillum Michx. is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows from a thin, branching, horizontal rhizome. It produces one or two slender scapes that reach up to 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) tall, and these scapes increase in size after flowering. The plant has three dark green bracts, which sometimes have a red tinge when they are new. The flower has three green to red-tinged sepals that grow up to 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) long, plus three wavy-edged petals. These petals open white but quickly turn pink as they age. The six stamens are tipped with lavender or yellow anthers, each of which is up to one centimeter long. The stigmas have long, narrow, spreading lobes. The plant produces a pulpy fruit 1 to 1.5 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches) long. Trillium pusillum flowers from March to early May. It grows in a variety of habitat types, including savannas, swamps, bogs, forests, woods, and fields, and it prefers acidic soils. In populations found in Missouri, the species is commonly pollinated by the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), while its seeds are dispersed by ants and harvestmen.
