Trillium chloropetalum 'Giganteum'

A seriously handsome trillium, and one that takes the word giganteum rather personally. This Californian woodland perennial forms a substantial clump of three broad, often beautifully mottled leaves, above which appear large, sessile flowers in rich maroon to reddish-purple. The flowers are held prominently above the foliage and make an excellent early-season spectacle in a shady woodland setting.

Native to central and northern California, particularly the Coast Ranges around the San Francisco Bay region, where it occurs in moist, shaded woodland, often beneath redwoods and other mixed forest. It appreciates a humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil and the cool, leafy conditions of deciduous or woodland planting. Give it time to settle and it makes a particularly impressive statement.

The nomenclature has wandered almost as much as the plant. Originally described by Hooker & Arnott in 1840 as Trillium sessile var. giganteum, it has subsequently appeared under several combinations. Munz transferred it to T. chloropetalum in 1958, giving the currently accepted name Trillium chloropetalum var. giganteum. The varietal distinction from var. chloropetalum is not absolute, with intermediates occurring in the wild, and some treatments therefore regard the two as insufficiently distinct.

Nomenclature: giganteum = giant, referring to its notably large stature and flowers.

• Hardiness: H6 — approximately -20 to -15°C
• Height: 40–60 cm
• Spread: 30–45 cm
• Flowers: March–May
• Range: California, USA — principally the Coast Ranges and San Francisco Bay region