(Trillium nivale)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Snow trillium is a low, erect perennial that rises from a short, stout, up to ⅜″ thick rhizome. It often forms colonies where conditions are favorable. Individual plants may live 8 years or more. A single leafless stalk (scape) rises from the ground 1⅛″ to 2″. By the time the flower is fully open the scape is 1¼″ to 3⅛″ tall. It is light green or reddish-brown, slender, and hairless. There are no true leaves. At the top of the scape is a single flower above a whorl of 3 bracts. The bracts are attached to the scape by short but distinct leaf stalks. They are 1⅛″ to 2″ long, egg-shaped to oval, rounded at the base, and usually rounded, not pointed, at the tip. They are bluish-green or dark green, hairless, and untoothed. They have 3 prominent, parallel veins. The inflorescence is a single flower on a ½″ to 1⅛″ long, erect or nearly erect, flower stalk at the end of the scape. The flowers are 1″ to 2″ wide. They consist of 3 white petals and 3 green sepals, and 6 yellow stamens, and a 3-lobed ovary and style. The petals are longer than the sepals. The sepals are ⅜″ to 1¼″ long, narrow, lance-shaped, and bent backward. The petals are ⅝″ to 1⅜″ long, white and oval to egg-shaped, with slightly wavy margins. The ovary is not winged. The fruit is a ¼″ to ½″, round to egg-shaped, greenish-white, berry. |
Height |
3″ to 6″ |
Flower Color |
White |
Similar Species |
Snow trillium is the smallest Trillium in Minnesota. Large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is a much larger plant, 8″ to 16″ tall at maturity. The leaves are wider and are pointed at the tip. Nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum var. macranthum) is a much larger plant, 8″ to 16″ tall at maturity. The leaves are wider and are pointed at the tip. The petals are lance-shaped and curve backward at the tip. Drooping trillium (Trillium flexipes) is a much larger plant, 8″ to 16″ tall at maturity. The leaves are wider and are pointed at the tip. The petals are lance-shaped and curve backward at the tip. |
Habitat |
Moist to moderate moisture. Woods. Filtered sunlight. Limey soils. |
Ecology |
Flowering |
Late March to April Snow trillium is the first wildflower to bloom in the spring in Minnesota forests. |
Pests and Diseases |
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Use |
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Distribution |
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Sources 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30. All sources but one show snow trillium restricted to the southern third of the state, the metro area, and an isolated occurrence in Douglas County (dark green on the map). Only BONAP shows snow trillium distributed throughout the state (light green). |
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4/9/2025 | ||
Nativity |
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Native |
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Occurrence |
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Uncommon |
Taxonomy |
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Kingdom |
Plantae (green algae and land plants) |
Subkingdom |
Viridiplantae (green plants) |
Infrakingdom |
Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) |
Superdivision |
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Division |
Tracheophyta (vascular plants) |
Subdivision |
Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants) |
Class |
Liliopsida (monocots) |
Order |
Liliales (lilies, supplejacks, and allies) |
Family |
Melanthiaceae (bunchflowers) |
Tribe |
Parideae |
Genus |
Trillium (Trillium) |
Subgenus |
Callipetalon |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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snow trillium dwarf white trillium dwarf white wakerobin |
Glossary
Bract
Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.
Rhizome
A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.
Scape
An erect, leafless stalk growing from the rootstock and supporting a flower or a flower cluster.
Visitor Photos |
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Jessica |
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Found many little dispersed clusters of snow trilliums in the park, especially on mossy banks. Lots of limestone bluffs and soil in this area. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Colony |
Colony |
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Plants |
Plant |
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Flower |
Flower |
Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) | Threatened Thursday |
About
Apr 2, 2022 Join me to observe and identify the Pennsylvania Rare Snow Trillium!! |
On the Ground Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) with Eric Comley, Garrard County 4-H YD Agent |
About
Mar 14, 2021 I hope you enjoy the video and the information in this edition of "On the Ground." |
Quality Time With the Rarest Trillium in the Midwest |
About
Apr 9, 2023 oday we take a trip to the grand river to see the snow trillium (trillium nivale) at the only area it occurs in Michigan. The habitat is very fragile here, and the species faces a number of threats at the current locations where it grows in Michigan. |
Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) |
About
Mar 1, 2023 |
Visitor Sightings |
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Ron Geppert 4/10/2011 |
Location: Blue Earth County Today, Sunday April 10, 2011, I saw a thriving and generous population of both the Snow Trillium and Round Lobed Hepatica along the Blue Earth County Red Jacket Bike Trail just north of the Le Sueur River. I noticed the habitat map on your website <http://minnesotaseasons.com/Plants/round-lobed_hepatica.html> did not show Blue Earth County as a location for the Hepatica. |
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
Created: 3/31/2009 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |