Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum): white Minnesota wildflowers

Nodding Trillium

Plant Info
Also known as:	Whip-poor-will Flower
Scientific name:	Trillium cernuum
Family:	Lily (Liliaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	part sun, shade; acidic woods
Bloom season:	spring
Plant height:	8 to 20 inches
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Flower:: A single flower hangs down at the end of a stem ½ to 1½ inches long. Flowers are about 1½ inches across and have 3 white petals and 3 green sepals almost as long as the petals. The petals and sepals both curve up, with the petals usually curving more strongly. There are 6 stamen with pinkish purple tips that hang down from the center.
Leaves and stem:: A whorl of 3 leaves is at the top of the otherwise naked main stem. Each leaf is broadly oval to diamond-shaped, up to 4 inches long and wide with a sharply pointed tip. The leaf edges are wavy but otherwise smooth.
Notes:: It is very easy to miss these flowers because the leaves tend to drape over them, hiding them from view. When I went out looking for them, I had to lift up the leaves to see if flowers were there and found flowers only on the tallest plants. There is a similar species, Drooping Trillium (T. flexipes), but its petals spread out rather than curve up, and the flower stem is longer than 1½ inches, and the leaves are larger.

More white wildflowers. Photos taken at Sucker Lake - Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park, Shoreview, MN May 2008

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?