The emblematic trillium

The trilliums are blooming.

Unlike the lichen prevalent throughout my neighbourhood, I have roughly a two-week window to catch these trilliums. A limited time to witness these short-lived blooms blanketing the forest floor.

The white trillium is Ontario’s official flower. This much I know. The iconic petals embellish our driver’s license and health card. But what else could I discover about our provincial emblem? Let’s see.

The trillium became the official flower in 1937. It grew out of a movement during World War I to chose a national flower to plant on the graves of Canadian soldiers overseas (though a national flower was not chosen). I headed over to e-laws to find the Floral Emblem Act and I may have stumbled upon the shortest piece of provincial legislation. It’s a single sentence, no more than 25 words, even with the reference to its botanical name – trillium grandiflorum.

Trilliums are fleeting in the spring days before the leaves come out on the trees and block the sun. They collect as much sunlight as possible in those few short weeks, tilting their petals to follow the sun as it moves across the sky. I have a sun seeker in my house too.

The ‘tri’ in trillium not only denotes three petals. They also have three leaves and three stigmas (pollen receptors).

There are five species of native trilliums in Ontario. The White Trillium (or trillium grandiflorum if you prefer) was easy to find on my local woodland trail. I also spotted some patches of Red Trilliums. One species is unfortunately endangered due to habitat loss and degradation. The Drooping Trillium is listed as a Species at Risk so it is protected under the Endangered Species Act intended to preserve Ontario’s native species and biological diversity.

Hard working ants scatter the flower’s seeds as they carry them back to their nests. This is known as myrmecochory. Google it and you will find as many pronunciations of the word as there are species of trilliums in Ontario.

We all know not to pick a trillium. This has been instilled in me since childhood. They are extremely fragile and this will seriously injure the plant. Furthermore, they are very slow to grow. It can take a white trillium 7 to 10 years to reach flowering size.

White-tailed deers love to eat white trilliums. In fact, some provincial parks use annual trillium surveys to understand the deer population. I suspect there are no white-tailed deers in my local woodland park as the trilliums are prolific year after year. A hunch, not scientific. Also, the trails are surrounded by houses.

Now you have all the facts to go out and enjoy our provincial emblem in your neighbourhood. In truth, all you needed to know was the trilliums are out now so don’t delay.

And don’t disturb these fragile beauties.