Trillium

One, two, three,
One, two, three,
Trillium, Trillium,
One, two, three.

       One of our first flowers to come out in the Spring is the Trillium or Wake-Robin. It was called the Wake-Robin in the East because soon after it blossoms there, the robin begins to sing. That is a topsy-turvy idea, is it not? The pretty flower is the alarm clock to call Robin to sing, instead of Robin being the alarm clock to awaken the flower.
       In California, we usually call it Trillium. That is the name Botanists gave it long ago. It is easy to see why. It means that its parts are in "threes."
       You can easily see it for yourself. There are three green leaves at a top of a stem. From their center rises the flower stalk. There are three green sepals and three light petals. There are six stamens. The three stigmas curve back as the petals do. You see Trillium is a very good name for it. You can call it Wake-Robin if you like that name better. It is really a pretty name and sounds like Spring time. 

       Wake-Robin does not come out in the sunny places as does Buttercup. She likes best the slopes near a creek, where there are always bushes to give her shade. Do you think she wishes insects to help her?
       Look at the three green leaves. See how they round in to the center where they join the stalk. Notice the five deep lines all running down to that center. These deep lines in the leaf are called nerves? 
       If Mrs. Insect happens to land on one of these curves, she will walk on the nerve right down to the center. When she gets there, she will see the flower standing up higher. All insects are curious, just as boys and girls are. If they were not curious, they would never learn anything new. So, this insect will crawl up the stalk to look into that flower.
       The three sepals spread out and the three petals stand up. Between them there is a little space. This is an easy open door for Mrs. Insect to crawl through, if she has come from below.
       If Mrs. Insect comes through the air and alights on a petal, she finds little paths leading downward. Of course, she follows one and when she is down low, she is sure to strike the bottom of the stamen. The anther opens and the pollen falls over her. The anthers are full of a very rich pollen. Many insects like to visit Wake-Robin just to eat the pollen and to carry it home. They go to several flowers as they collect. The stigmas take the pollen that is on their bodies and send it to the ovules.
       After her seed is formed, Wake-Robin changes her dress to a darker one. That is a sign to the insects that her pollen is all gone. They will be wasting their time if they come to her. No insect ever has any time to waste. You have watched them, have you not? They hurry along always with their minds set on just what they are doing. If you put a piece of grass in their way, they just walk around it and go to their business. So, when they see that Wake-Robin wears a dark gown, they leave her alone.
       If you dig down under the stem, you will find a thick root. If you leave this alone, the Wake Robin will rise up again next year. If you are fond of Wake-Robin, you can dig up the root carefully and put it in a paper with some of its own earth around it. Then plant it in a shady spot in your garden. Next year you will have a Wake-Robin as good as the ones that bloom in the woods. If you leave the root in the ground unharmed for several years, you will have a bed of Wake-Robins.

Trillium comes in a dark variety too.

       If you want a beautiful wild flower garden in the Spring, get some roots of Wake-Robin's tall sister, whom we always call Trillium. She is so beautiful that many people in the East and in Europe have her in their gardens. Isn't it funny? We send to Europe for roots of the Tulip for our gardens and do not notice the Trillium growing in the next field. Europe sends to us for roots of our Trillium and other wild flowers. They use Tulips, too, but they prize highly some of our Native flowers.
       This Trillium is very handsome. Her petals are long and waxy. They are wonderful colors - white and cream; from palest pink through to darkest red; from lemon color to orange; from sand color to dark brown.
       Her green leaves are wonderful too. They are sprinkled with dark spots, of all sorts of shapes. Some look like strange writings. If you can read the Fairies' alphabet, perhaps you will find a letter just for you on the Trillium leaf.
       This Trillium sends out a message to the insects. It is not so sweet as that of Wall Flower, nor as strong. It smells like lemon juice mixed with strange spices. The insects fall in love with the fragrance and come rushing to find out what it is. Then they find the pollen. As they feast upon it, they also help Mrs. Trillium by carrying some of it to her neighboring blossom. Then good seed is formed and sent out to form new plants.
       Underground, the roots are also forming new plants. We call these kind of roots Bulbs. You have seen the bulb of the Chinese Lily which your Mother started in a bowl of water. You saw the tiny roots go out in the water and the stem with leaves and flowers rise up. That is the way all bulbs act. Some of our most beautiful wild flowers come from bulbs. Some gardeners make a business of collecting them and shipping them all over the World.
       Some of you boys and girls might plan right now to go into the California Bulb business when you are grown up. Ask your Mother how much she paid for those Tulip bulbs last year. There is good money in raising bulbs for the market. There is pleasure in it too. The work is out of doors. You learn about the soil, the sun, and the shade each plant wants to make it healthy. You learn which insects are its friends and which insects are its foes. You find out something interesting every day.

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