What is "trillium erectum"

Birthroot \Birth"root`\, n. (Bot.) An herbaceous plant ( Trillium erectum), and its astringent rootstock, which is said to have medicinal properties.

Trillium erectum, also known as red trillium, wake-robin, purple trillium, Beth root, or stinking Benjamin, is a species of flowering plant native to the east and north-east of North America. It is a spring ephemeral, an herbaceous perennial whose life-cycle is synchronised with that of the deciduous forests where it lives.

This plant grows to about in height with a spread of , and can tolerate extreme cold in winter, surviving temperatures down to . Like all trilliums, its parts are in groups of three, with 3-petalled flowers above whorls of pointed triple leaves. The leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals and crystal raphide, and should not be consumed by humans. The flowers are a deep red colour, though there is a white form. The flowers have the smell of rotting meat, as they are pollinated by flies.

The plant takes its name "wake-robin" by analogy with the robin, which has a red breast heralding spring.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

• Trillium erectum var. album (Michx.) Pursh
• Trillium erectum var. erectum