Painted trillium
(𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒎)
Conservation Status: No current status rank in Maine
Photo Credit: Jason Hollinger/Flickr
Facts: The painted trillium is a truly elusive spring ephemeral and you should consider yourself lucky if you happen to see this beautiful perennial wildflower, which only blooms for about three weeks in early spring. It is broadly distributed throughout the deciduous and mixed forests of New England and thrives in deep shade and acidic soils. If you are lucky enough to find the painted trillium in bloom, the redish-purple crescent-shaped splotch near the base of the otherwise white petals is sure to catch your eye. Each plant produces a single bright red fleshy berry-like fruit in mid to late summer. You are likely to pass by the whorled blue-green leaves as you wander some shady trails of the refuge without even noticing these beauties when not in bloom.
Fun Fact: The painted trillium is sometimes referred to as the "painted wake robin,” which derives from the fact that the species blooms at around the same time the robin returns in the spring in some parts of the northeast.
Sources: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/trillium/undulatum/, https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/trillium_undulatum.shtml