Trillium flexipes 'Cumberland'

Bent White Wakerobin  Melanthiaceae

A particularly handsome Cumberland Plateau form of Bent White Wakerobin, with substantial, thick-textured white flowers held above or just beyond the broad, sessile three-leaved bracts. The flowers have the characteristic outward-facing, slightly nodding habit of T. flexipes, with three broad white petals, green sepals and conspicuous creamy-white stamens. The foliage is particularly good, forming a substantial clump of broad, rhomboid green bracts.

Our form is seed-raised from the Cumberland Plateau, USA, selected for its notably heavy-textured white flowers. Trillium flexipes has a widespread but discontinuous distribution through the eastern and central United States and southern Ontario, occurring particularly in rich, moist deciduous woodland and limestone-derived soils. (efloras.org⁠)

A splendid woodland trillium for humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil in dappled shade, emerging early in spring before the woodland canopy closes.

• Hardiness: H5, -15 to -10°C
• Height: 30–60 cm
• Spread: 30–45 cm
• Flowers: April–May