Trillium

The red trillium is native here, and only blooms in the early spring.  I was fortunate enough to catch this one back lit by the sun while walking in Vale Cemetery.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Red trillium

It's early spring, and that means these are out.  I don't know why, but the red trillium always make me happy.  They don't flower very long and they don't smell very good, but still, they sure are beautiful.  Three leaves, three petals, one flower.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f/1.4
F Number	f/2.8
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Red Trillium

This is a native wildflower which blooms in the spring.  It's hard to see the flower because it 'nods' or faces down, which is why this is photographed from underneath.

It's a trillium because there are three of everything; leaves, petals, sepals and who knows what else.  Once you know what you're looking for, it's not hard to spot them in the woods from those three leaves.

It has another name, which describes how it smells: Stinking Benjamin.  I don't know who Benjamin was though!

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Trillium

The trillium have bloomed! I can't say why, but it always makes me happy to see these flowers. Don't smell them though, whew, yuck! Don't pick them, either - they are protected in New York State.

Purple Trillium

This is a purple Trillium. I looked it up, and found out it's also called wake-robin. I didn't know that. I tried to capture a fairly representative image of the entire plant in situ rather than do my typical macro image.

This is a cluster of trillium plants growing on a hillside a few feet off the path in Vale Park. It would be easy to walk past these and never notice them, which is probably good for them since picking them can damage the plant to the point where they can die (I didn't know that either.)

This spot is quite shady, with a full canopy overhead (well, it will be full when the leaves all come in!) and well drained. I wonder if the leaf litter helps protect them from the winter's chill?

Trillium seeds

Taken at Five Rivers, this trillium is in great shape for the lateness of the season. These three 'leaves' aren't leaves at all, butare called bracts. I can't tell what variety of trillium this is; without the flower, which blooms in spring, I haven't a hope of figuring it out but my guess is trillium grandiflorum.

Those seeds sure caught my eye, and like the rest of the plant, they turned out not to be seeds, but the fruit. The seeds are inside, and apparently are harvested by ants, who eat the fruit and toss the seeds in their trash heap! How cool is that?

This is all guesswork on my part - I'm going to have to stake out some trilliums and follow them in the spring time to be sure...