(Plate LXXIII.)

Family

Lily-of-the-valley,

Colour

White, turning later to pink.

Odour

Scentless.

Range

Vermont to Penn.

and westward.

Time of Bloom

May, June.

Flowers: terminal; solitary. Calyx: of three, long, pointed, green sepals. Corolla: of three pointed petals; sometimes three inches long. Stamens: six. Pistil: one; stigma having three branches. Fruit: a red or purple berry. Leaves: whorled in threes below the flower; ovate; triple-veined. Stem: erect; simple. Rootstock: rather tuberous.

The trilliums are among the choicest wild flowers of North America; and with the exception of a few Japanese and Himalayan species are peculiar to the country. T. grandiflorum is possessed of a chaste, dignified beauty, but is without fragrance. We especially lament this, as the greater number Of large, white flowers are heavily scented.

In support of the theory that all petals were originally leaves, those of the trilliums have a curious way of occasionally turning into leaves.