Trillium ovatum

Western trillium, White Or Western Trillium

Family: Melanthiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western trillium is a California native perennial found in coastal and northern California regions in redwood and mixed conifer forests at elevations of 10 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from January to June, this plant produces white flowers 2 to 6 centimeters long that age to pink or deep purple, with broad elliptic petals that overlap at the base. Growing with erect stems 15 to 70 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive whorls of three large diamond-shaped leaves that are generally green and sessile. Its broad leaves measure 4 to 20 centimeters long and 5 to 20 centimeters wide, with an acute to acuminate tip. The fruit is a green, 6-angled ovoid structure with winged ridges.

Habitat: Redwood or mixed conifer forest

Bloom period: Jan-Jun

Elevation: 10-1700 m

California counties: Santa Cruz, Humboldt, San Mateo, Monterey, Marin, Mendocino, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Trinity, Tehama, Shasta, Yuba, San Francisco

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.