Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale)

I have been researching and hoping to see Snow Trillium for several years and on Saturday,  March 23, 2013, I was able to see it in Randolph County, WV. Number 3 for the Big Year .

Snow Trillium is difficult to find and  is considered endangered, threatened or rare across most of its range. West Virginia does not have state threatened and endangered species legislation so species listed as either threatened or endangered in the state are only found on the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of federally threatened and endangered species. Only four plants are considered endangered and two considered threatened and receive federal protection. The WV Natural Heritage Program tracks rare species and ranks Snow Trillium as imperiled and very vulnerable to extirpation from the state. 

          In an article by Craig Stihler called "The Elegance of Spring Trilliums",  Snow Trillium were described:

"This is our smallest and earliest blooming trillium. Plants are usually less than six inches tall. Flowers white; ovaries white. Leaves have a blue-green coloration.  This uncommon trillium is almost always associated with limestone in areas where leaf litter does not accumulate and cover the plants. It begins to bloom as early as mid-March and may be found in bloom surrounded by snow."  (West Virginia Wildlife Magazine, Spring, 2005)

This article was my introduction to Snow Trillium and I have been waiting to see it ever since. I had arranged to make this trip two weeks before and as the day drew closer the weather grew quirkier. On Wednesday four inches of snow covered the site and on Thursday the report was that the flowers were covered and things did not look good. On Friday there was a long wait as someone surveyed the site and finally reported that the snow had melted enough so the flowers were exposed and in bloom. 

         I arrived Saturday after a three hour drive and joined a group led by botanists with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. After a short drive with an extremely interesting and talented AmeriCorps volunteer, we set out on a hike to the limestone cove. There was exposed limestone cliffs on a dry hillside and the Trillium were growing right against limestone ledges where wind kept leaves cleared away. 

They were much smaller than I would have imagined, no more than two inches tall. Only two or so were in full bloom and the rest were just beginning to unfold. The botanist mentioned that the recent snow had slowed the bloom somewhat. 

A Group of Five Snow Trillium

I generally prefer to hike alone to sites such as this, but this is a protected botanical area in a National Forest so I welcome the rare opportunity to join an organized hike to see this rare flower. 

Randolph County WV Highlands