Prairie Trillium is a sessile trillium common in rich bottomland forests of the Midwest, featuring dark maroon petals that taper to narrow claws above mottled green leaves with reflexed sepals. Found from Indiana to Oklahoma, it blooms in spring while the leaves are still emerging on the trees above. Like other trilliums, the seeds are dispersed by ants attracted to fatty appendages called elaiosomes. Prairie Trillium is a reliable indicator of intact, high-quality floodplain forest.
Best time to see a Prairie Trillium
The best time to see a Prairie Trillium is April, when about 62% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 18,499 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
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