Large Trillium (trillium grandiflorum)Is there anything more perfect than a Trillium blooming in the northern woods in May? To my mind there is nothing more exquisite. My favourite wildflower is now at the peak of its blooming, and the forests in Lanark are full of these magnificent woodland lilies, each with three elegant green leaves, three snowy white petals and a glowing yellow heart.
The Trillium is native to parts of North America, the Himalayas and Japan, and nowhere else on the planet does it grow wild. Like many wild lilies, it is slow to mature, requiring several years of quiet growth and gentle nurturing in moist nutrient abundant earth before it deigns to bloom, but oh, how it blooms when the time comes. When Trilliums are in bloom, there is so much beauty in the woods that the eyes cannot take it all in.
When I stepped onto my woodland trail yesterday morning and looked around, there were dazzling white Trilliums as far as the eye could see, and they simply took my breath away — I stood and stared and had no words for the experience. On such days, I know why I live in the north, winter or no winter — this is the place of my belonging, and this is where I should be.
Here is a sylvan trinity for long slow unhurried contemplation. Every year I vow to describe these perfect wildflowers, to write essays, odes, sonnets and haiku in their honour, and every year I realize that my native language is not sufficient for the undertaking.
3 comments:
Trilliums are truely welcoming after a long winter. Traditionally, the leaves have been consumed in the early spring by certain Canadian Native tribes for culinary and medicinal uses. As a culinary herb, the leaves can be eaten raw or slightly steamed and have a nutty taste similar to sunflower seeds. You have to harvest the leaves before the flower blooms. Never remove the roots. Trilliums are illegal to pick in Provincial or Federal Parks, in Ontario or on private property. Medicinally, the leaves were believed to act as a contraceptive and menstuation aid by the Native women and was inclusive to the deep purple cousin of the trillium called Bethroot.
Anonymous Herbalist
These are lovely, I saw some red ones last week but I don't remember seeing white ones ever
Meandering into spring is one of the most soul nourshing experiences I know. These white trillium draw my eyes and my heart. What nurture there is in their elegance and grace.
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