large trillium IMG 20230517 230910

A large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) which, confusingly, in this case is pink. The normally white flowers turn pink as they age, but there is also a rare variety that is pink from the moment it blooms. A woodland plant that flowers in mid to late spring. The seeds have an oily attachment called the elaiosome that ants find irresistible. The ants carry the seeds back to their nests, feed on the elaiosomes and abandon the rest of the seed near the nest where some will sprout. The white trillium is the floral emblem of Ontario.