CALIFORNIAN TRILLIUM.
Trillium sessile, var. Californicum, Wats. Lily Family.
Rootstock.—Like a small turnip. Stems.—Usually several from the same root; a foot or so high. Leaves.—Three at the top of the stem; three to eight inches long. Flowers.—White to deep wine-color. Petals.—One to four inches long. (Otherwise as T. ovatum.) Hab.—From San Luis Obispo to Oregon.
[CALIFORNIAN TRILLIUM—Trillium sessile, var. Californicum.]
![[CALIFORNIAN TRILLIUM—Trillium sessile, var. Californicum.]](#3624944100741987669_f097.png.id-1360407981289021361.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
We begin to look for the Californian Trillium early in the spring. Little companies of the plants may be seen upon low flats under the trees, where the soil is rich. The small, turnip-like tubers usually send up several stems, which lean gracefully away from one another. The large leaves are often like pieces of decorated china that have been several times through the kiln. They have various superimposed blotchings, the latest of which are dark, sharp, cuneiform characters, mysterious hieroglyphs of Nature, which might reveal wondrous secrets, could we but decipher them. The blossoms have a strong, heavy fragrance, and are exceedingly variable in color, ranging from pure white to lilac, deep wine, and even black-purple. These plants are much admired in the East and in Europe, where they are cultivated in the garden.