A trillium is a wildflower that grows in the forests of North America and Asia, famous for growing in groups of three. Each trillium plant has exactly three leaves arranged in a triangle, three petals on its flower, and even three sepals (the green parts under the petals).

Trilliums bloom in spring, often carpeting the forest floor with white, pink, or deep red flowers before the trees above them grow full leaves and block the sunlight. They're a sign that winter has ended and warmer weather has arrived. In some places, people call them wake-robins because they appear around the same time robins return from their winter migration.

These flowers grow slowly and can live for decades in the same spot. Some trillium species are protected by law because picking them can damage the plant so severely that it may never bloom again. When you spot trilliums on a hike, you're seeing plants that might be older than your parents, quietly returning every spring to the same patch of forest floor.