clinicalherbalist:

Sessile trillium (Trillium sessile). My favourite name for this plant is “toadshade trillium”. The idea is that toads hang out in the shade underneath it, like a parasol or a beach umbrella. And the trillium releases substances that attract flies (its pollinators), and when the flies come the toad eats them. Later on as the fruits begin to ripen, ants come and gather the seeds, which feature a little piece of sweet material that the ants like. So they take it underground for a snack for later, planting the trillium seed (which may, many ant-generations later, grow to produce more of the food they like). And the toad eats some of the ants too.
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Trillium (this species or otherwise) can be locally abundant, but is a long-lived plant with a somewhat specific habitat and a fairly long time between being a seed and a mature plant. So it’s quite vulnerable to overharvesting, even though you might see a hillside robed in thousands of them. Harvesting trillium is like rebuilding the transmission on your car— not a good project for beginners, not a safe thing to do unless you really know how.
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Medicinally, trillium contains some powerful antiinflammatory steroids and steroid precursors; it has also been used for endocrine supporting functions, though for these it is similar to wild yam, which is more common, so usually i try that first.
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#trillium #toadshade #symbiosis #diosgenin #herbalmedicine #herbal #herbalism #nature #wildflowers