Trillium Blossom Close Up - Melanthiaceae Royalty-Free Stock Image

Trillium trillium, wakerobin, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes `wood lily` is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia. Plants of this genus are perennial herbs growing from rhizomes. There are three large leaf-like bracts arranged in a whorl about a scape that rises directly from the rhizome. The bracts are photosynthetic and are sometimes called leaves. The inflorescence is a single flower with three green or reddish sepals and three petals in shades of red, purple, pink, white, yellow, or green. At the center of the flower there are six stamens and three stigmas. Several species of Trillium contain chemical compounds called sapogenins that have been used medicinally though the ages as astringents, coagulants, expectorants, and uterine stimulants. This is evidenced in common names given to some trilliums such as birthwort and Indian balm.