My goal was to see if the trillium was in bloom (you may recall I wrote about earlier jaunts to see the trillium here.). The plants were in full thrall, though some of it looked like it was near the end of its course. The forest floor was covered with the plant; it looked like something out of a fairy tale. A way to an enchanted place, perhaps. Surely there were gnomes and elves and other woodland myths at the far end of this trail of lovelies.
Trillium, according to Wikipedia, has about 50 varieties. I have no idea what variety this particular flower might be. My mother told me that the variety hidden in this vale is rare, and to me it looks like it's trillium ovatum which can't be right because apparently that grows out west, not here in southwestern Virginia.
If you pick a trillium plant, you kill it. It is illegal in some states to pick trillium because it takes years for the plants to come back. Perhaps this wild patch of trillium has been growing for decades. It has been there at least a decade, probably longer. I know of only a few people who would venture into the area in the spring who might have seen it.
I am happy to share it with you.
They're beautiful flowers. It's illegal to pick any wild flowers in the UK now.
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