trailing wakerobin

Trillium decumbens is a perennial herbaceous plant that blooms from mid-March to April. The dark maroon flower petals are long and twisted, and held upright at full bloom. The flowers emit a strongly fetid odor. Unlike most other trilliums, its stems grow along the ground ("decumbent") rather than standing upright, so that the plant appears to rest on the surrounding leaf litter. This characteristic is what drew the attention of its discoverer, Charles Lawrence Boynton. Its leaves are mottled green and silver. They die back early in the season while the fruit, a dark purple berry, is still developing. By early autumn, the ripe fruit is presented on a stalk without surrounding leaves.