Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale)

One of the earliest wildflowers to awaken from winter's dreary grasp is the snow trillium (Trillium nivale). This tiny, half-dollar sized plant can be found growing on select limestone bluffs and wooded slopes along streams and rivers here in central Kentucky. This plant is currently known to only grow in two counties and is considered a state-endangered species. This trillium is intolerant of human disturbance and is considered an indicator of higher quality habitats. This plant typically blooms in early March and can sometimes be found flowering when there is snow still on the ground, hence the appropriate common name. This is the smallest of our native trilliums and can be distinguished from other trilliums by it's short stature (2-4 inches), early blooming period, and white flowers.

This weekend I ventured up to Adams County in southern Ohio as I had high hopes of finding this beautiful and rare life species in bloom. I knew it was a long shot considering this past week was very cold and snowy, but as luck would have it, the recent warm temperatures had triggered about a dozen or so eager individuals to flower. It was still a bit early for this species as I counted about a hundred or so still in tight bud. The site that I visited is known to harbor a very large population of Trillium nivale and they can number in the thousands at peak bloom!

I ended up spending a couple hours in quiet solitude at this site taking photographs while admiring their ornate beauty and soaking up the warm sunshine. My excitement for spring can hardly be contained anymore as I constantly have visions of all the spring wildflowers that are going to be blooming in the near future! It felt fantastic to finally be able to get outside to do some botanizing and hiking and I'm starting off the 2013 botany season with a bang as I crossed off a major species from my life list today. I love the trilliums and I hope to share and highlight some of the other species that can be found in Kentucky as they begin to flower throughout the spring.