Trillium nivale, the snow trillium or dwarf white trillium, is a member of the Trilliaceae

Trilliaceae

Trilliaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family has been recognised as distinct since 1846 when it was recognized; this table for a summarizes the placement of these taxa...

 family. It is native to parts of the east and midwest United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and is one of the earliest flowers to bloom. Along the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 valley, flowers may be seen in early March. At its northern limit in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, it blooms in early April. Far beyond its native range, at Edmonton, Alberta, it blooms in late April.

It is small for a trillium, seldom reaching a height of more than 9 cm (3.5 in). Unlike most trilliums, it does not grow in leaf mold, preferring limy sandy gravel, crevices in limestone, or calcareous mineral soil instead.

External links

• http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TRNI2
• http://www.devonian.ualberta.ca/springblapril232007.html Devonian Botanic Garden April 23-26, 2007