Trillium
Photographed 3/19/15 on Salomon River Trail

Trillium are “spring ephemeral” flowers.
That is, they develop their stems, leaves and flowers early each spring.
They then quickly bloom, and produce seed.
The leaves then wither, leaving only the underground
structures roots, rhizomes, and bulbs for the remainder of the year.

Picking the flowers can seriously injures the plant
by preventing the leaves from producing food for the next year,
thereby killing the plant.
It will not rebloom the following year or ever thereafter.

Trillium seeds are spread by ants.
Trillium seeds have a fleshy organ that produces small fruits
These fruits attracts ants.
The ants take the fruits to their nest,
where they eat the fruits and leave teh seeds in their nest.
In the spring the seed germinate and grow in a rich medium provided by the ants. So, do not pick trillium flowers.