Tag Archives: Western Trillium

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Joining Slink Pod in blooming in winter, Western Trilliums are up. Frank Lalle sent in this photo of one.

The white flower will turn pink after some days, and then purple. Promise me you'll never pick this wildflower! At the very least, it would set the plant back years, and at the worst, picking it might kill it.

The first Milk Maids, aka Spring Beauty, are up too. I saw a group of them at Gualala Point Regional park, by the steps from the parking area that lead to the Visitors' Center. Here's a photo taken by Amy Ruegg.

The first Bracken Ferns have poked through the ground. And the first Douglas Iris have bloomed in a sunny meadow.

Thanks to Frank and Amy for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It sure feels like Spring today. Temps are warm, and there is very little breeze. It's a magnificent day on the Mendonoma Coast.

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Mary Sue Ittner was on the Thursday Ramblers' hike last week. She found one of the first Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum, up. It obviously had been raining!

She also found Slink Pod, Scoliopus bigelovii. I love looking for these tiny wildflowers. They are very hard to spot, so you look for the two leaves poking through the forest duff.

This morning I noticed the first Bracken Fern up and a few Huckleberry blossoms. Spring must be right around the corner! Thanks to Mary Sue for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We have a lot of rain in our forecast, but there will be breaks to allow for nature walks on bluffs or along forest paths. Heed the siren call on Mother Nature!

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Bob Rutemoeller spotted this rare trillium, Trillium albidum, or Sweet Trillium.

The flowers are fragrant, I am told. The flower of any trillium should never be picked. So if you find one or more, just enjoy them where they are. Western Trilliums, the more common trillium, are blooming now in shady forests. The Sweet Trillium prefers more sun. Here's a photo of a Western Trillium for comparison, photo taken by Renee Jardine.

Thanks to Bob and Renee for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

A big storm is forecast to drop a lot of rain on the Mendonoma coast. It is already raining this afternoon. Waterfalls will be coming back to life with this much-needed rain. Thank you, Mother Nature!

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When fresh up, Western Trilliums are white. As they age they turn pink and then purple. Craig Tooley photographed one as it changed to pink.

Western Trillium changing from white to pink by Craig Tooley

Craig mentioned that it looked like it had been hand-painted.

A wet storm hit the Mendonoma Coast in the wee hours of the morning, bringing two inches of rain at our place in Anchor Bay. There are several more storms to come, for which we are very grateful.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: www.ruffimage.com

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Yesterday Rick and I saw our first Trilliums of the year on our property in Anchor Bay. Western Trillium, Trillium ovatum, is always a treat to find. But never pick one! It can take years for the plant to recover.

 Below is a Trillium just unfolding.

The flowers are white when young and turn pink as they age. Ants distribute their seeds, as they do for many other plants. Everything is connected - we just need to learn of these connections and respect them. Mother Nature knows what she's doing!