By Travis Fisher
Senior Horticulturist and Plant Records Manager
By Sarah Carter
Olga C. de Goizueta Vice President of Goizueta Gardens and Living Collections
Trillium is a genus of spring ephemeral wildflowers that can be found across eastern North America but has its greatest diversity of species in the southeastern United States. The various species are known by an interesting assortment of common names, such as wake-robin, toad shade, sweet Betsy, or just trillium. Georgia is particularly diverse in this genus, with more species than any other state.
Goizueta Gardens at Atlanta History Center have a substantial collection of Trillium as part of our Georgia Native Plant Collection. We have populations that occur naturally in the woods on the campus and species that have been planted as part of our living collections.
Trillium make beautiful understory plants for dappled light under deciduous trees. They typically like moist, organic woodland soil with leaf litter for mulch. After they flower in early to mid-spring, the leaves will continue to grow and photosynthesize for a few more months before going dormant in mid-summer. New plants typically need a year or two to settle in before they start to increase into a clump. Eventually they will spread by seed, but it takes between 4-20 years (depending on the species) for trillium to reach flowering size .
These very low-maintenance and long-lived perennials do not need special care or dividing unless you wish to propagate them. They are untroubled by pests or disease but cannot tolerate being browsed by deer. Like all of our native plants, they are interconnected with the local ecosystem on many levels. The flowers attract a variety of native bees and wasps to their pollen and nectar. The berries and seed are eaten by mammals and ants which help to spread them around woodland habitat. The leaves are also food for the larval forms of several species of moths.
The following is a guide to the trillium that can be observed in Goizueta Gardens.
Trillium catesbaei, Catesby’s trillium
This species is commonly found in Piedmont woodlands, especially along streams. Catesby’s trillium has a pink flower that hangs beneath the leaves with petals curving back toward the stem. It flowers from March through early May. Look for Trillium catesbaei in Swan Woods and the Quarry Garden.
Trillium cuneatum, little sweet Betsy
This is the most common species of trillium in the Piedmont region, especially in oak-pine-hickory forests and on floodplains or along creeks. This aptly describes our own Swan Woods, where this species occurs naturally. It usually produces a deep maroon flower but can also have yellow or green flowers. Trillium cuneatum flowers from March through April.
Trillium decipiens, Chattahoochee River wake-robin
Found in deciduous oak-beech forests in a small area in southwest Georgia, southeast Alabama, and the northern Florida Panhandle. Trillium decipiens and Trillium underwoodii have an overlapping range and look very similar, except that T. decipiens is much taller with a stem about double the length of the leaves. This species emerges early, in late January, and flowers by early March. In Goizueta Gardens, T. decipiens can be found in the Quarry Garden and in the Sims Asian Garden.
Trillium decumbens, trailing wakerobin
This species looks similar to Trillium cuneatum, except for its seeming lack of stem. Trailing wake-robin is found in a narrow range of the Southeast, in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. They typically bloom in mid-March to April in mature deciduous forests or on open rocky woodland slopes. At the Goizueta Gardens, this species can be found in the Quarry Garden.
Trillium flexipes, bent trillium
This trillium species is widespread in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States, where it grows on limestone soils often in rich woods in stream and river valleys. In Georgia, it is found only in the far northwestern corner of the state, where more calcium rich soils occur. Trillium flexipes produces a large white flower with recurved petals beginning in April. In the Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in the Quarry Garden.
Trillium grandiflorum, great white trillium
One of the most widespread of the trillium species, Trillium grandiflorum is found throughout the central and northeastern United States and eastern Canada. It is not widely present in the Deep South and is only found in the Blue Ridge in Georgia. It produces a white flower and will form large colonies of plants where it is happy growing. In the Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in the Quarry Garden and in Swan Woods.
Trillium lancifolium, lance-leaved trillium
Trillium lancifolium has scattered populations in South Carolina, Georgia, southeast Tennessee, and Alabama. It was probably once more widely distributed but has lost much of its habitat to agriculture. It is found in rich woods over calcareous rock, as well as in floodplain forests. It is a small trillium with long, thin leaves and typically maroon flowers.In Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in the Quarry Garden and in Swan Woods.
Trillium luteum
Native primarily to eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, in the Smoky Mountains. Trillium luteum has bright yellow flowers with all-yellow flower parts and a lemony scent. In Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in Swan Woods.
Trillium maculatum, spotted wake-robin
Native to hardwood forests in the Coastal Plain of Georgia, Alabama, north Florida, and South Carolina. Trillium maculatum has tall, thin crimson flowers and large purple and white splotched leaves. In Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in the Sims Asian Garden and the Quarry Garden.
Trillium persistens, persistent trillium
Found in only six population groups around Tallulah Gorge in Georgia and South Carolina, this species was listed as Federally Endangered in 1978. Trillium persistens is a small plant with elongated, cone shaped white to pink flowers.
Trillium pusillum, dwarf wake-robin
This diminutive trillium bears white blooms that age to pale pink or lavender. It prefers floodplain forest, where it often grows on low ridges. They are found in scattered populations across the southeastern US. In Goizueta Gardens, they can be found in the Quarry Garden.
Trilllium reliquum, relict trillium
This trillium is very rare in the wild and is listed as an Endangered Species. It occurs in scattered populations along the Fall Line in the upper Coastal Plain in South Carolina, southwest Georgia, southeast Alabama, and north Florida. It probably once had a much greater distribution, but habitat loss from cotton farming and widespread timber harvest has severely limited it to its current remnant populations. Trillium reliquum has large silver mottled leaves and maroon flowers and grows low with its stem along the surface of the ground.
Trillium rugelii, Southern nodding trillium
Found in rich forest along rivers and streams throughout the Piedmont. This species occurs naturally in the Atlanta area and has large, rounded leaves and a pendant white flower with striking purple anthers. In the Goizueta Gardens you can find Trillium rugelii in Swan Woods, the Memory Garden adjacent to Smith Farm, and in the Quarry Garden.
Trillium sulcatum, southern red trillium
This species is found in rich woodlands primarily on the Cumberland Plateau. It produces deep red flowers with backward curving petals. Flowers appear in April and May. In the Goizueta Gardens, this plant can be found in the Quarry Garden.
Trillium underwoodii, longbract wake-robin
This species is found in the wild in deciduous oak-beech forests in a small area in southwest Georgia, southeast Alabama, and the northern Florida Panhandle. Trillium underwoodii has large leaves with showy, camouflage-like patterns typically with a silver streak down the center, and large maroon flowers. It is a short plant with a stem typically under half the length of the leaves. One of the earliest emerging trilliums, Trillium underwoodii pushes its leaves up in late January or early February and usually flowers by early March. In the Goizueta Gardens, it can be found in the Quarry Garden.
Like many of our beautiful native plants, trillium are at risk from people collecting them out of their native habitat. A permit must be obtained before collecting any seed or plant material from national forests and grasslands. If you are looking to add trillium to your garden, ensure you buy from a reputable nursery that propagates these species using ecologically sustainable methods. Of course you are always welcome to visit Goizueta Gardens in spring to enjoy these remarkable wildflowers.
From concept planning, garden design and project management, to propagation, installation, ongoing curation and horticultural care of each designated garden—this team does it all and then some.
Although in the heart of a busy urban neighborhood, the Goizueta Gardens are host to many species of native wildlife including six species of salamanders.
On October 30, 2023, Olguita’s Garden will celebrate its 5th anniversary! This special garden was created in honor of Olga C. de Goizueta. Special thanks to The Goizueta Foundation for their generous support of Atlanta History Center through the years, and specifically for their continued commitment to Goizueta Gardens.
