We love the Trillium albidum that grows here

I took a walk out in the back of our farm yesterday to the natural area next door to take pictures of the Trillium flowers so I could share it in this newsletter. Some call it Trillium albidum or Giant White Wakerobin and we have loved watching it grow this spring with buds forming in the last week or two. Walking around the 17 acres, I found the plants but discovered the flowers on the trillium had been removed. The black tailed deer walk through here every morning and I suspect they have been eating them. When I looked into it, I found out that deer like to eat them and have been posing a threat to some trillium plant populations in other parts of the country.

Trillium albidum (White trillium or giant white wakerobin)

The Conservation Status of Trillium in North America (2022) reports that this Trillium albidum species here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Northern California is secure but in other parts of the country, especially including the SE, some species are in decline due to wild boar or white tail deer browsing on Trillium foliage and flowers hindering the plant's ability to reproduce and thrive. They suffer from other issues including poor seed dispersal, although seeds from some species become dispersed by ants which are attracted to a highly nutritious appendage on the seed.

Discovered on a Friday walk at EWF; Willamette Valley Native - Claytonia lanceolata (Spring Beauty)

I have been walking out with our team on Friday afternoons this spring and hope to share more discoveries in future newsletters. Stay tuned!