The Red Empress in All Her Splendor

Red Trillium or Wakerobin
(Trillium erectum)

Is it silly to remember a particular wildflower with affection?  Sometimes I wonder, and then I remember the red empress.

This particular red trillium has resided near a bend in the trail for time out of mind, and she gifts us with a single perfect flower every year.    Rising from the warming earth, she spreads three great green ruffled leaves, then puts forth a single elegant nodding bud.  As the sun grows stronger, the bud slowly raises its head and unfurls in deep opulent crimson, possibly my favorite color ever.  So great is the bloom and so rich the color that it can be seen from quite a distance, even on overcast days.

Some years, a deer passes along the trail and consumes the flower before we arrive.  Some years, a bright wind dances across the old hills and shakes her petals loose in just a few hours - when that happens, her time of blooming is brief.  This we know, and this we love, understand and cherish beyond mere words - even the fallen petals of the red empress are works of art.