Yellow Trillium – Trillium Luteum

Yellow Trillium (trillium luteum) are one of the most easily identifiable spring wildflowers that bloom in the Smoky Mountains – once your realize what it is! I’d seen several varieties of the white, pink and red trilliums before I saw the yellow ones – and at first I didn’t recognize them as trillium. All the ones I’d seen before then had been pedicillate trilliums where the petals seem to open out from a central point. Yellow Trillium are sessile trilliums, where the petals seem to grow straight up from the stem.

Native to the Southeastern United States, Michigan and Ontario, Canada, yellow trillium bloom in the spring. They can grow to about 16 inches tall. The three mottled green leaves grow to 6 inches long. The three yellow petals start out as a green yellow aging to a deeper yellow. They grow basicly erect from the stem.

If you are in the right place, you can see big clusters of yellow trillium. And if you go back the next year, chances are – the patch of yellow trillium will be even bigger.

Here are a few of my favorite yellow trillium photos I’ve taken over the years. All were taken in the mountains of Tennessee.