Bot. [mod.L. (Linnæus, 1753), in allusion to the triple leaves.] A genus (chiefly North American) of perennial endogenous herbs (N.O. Trilliaceæ, formerly referred to Smilaceæ) bearing a whorl of three thin short-stalked or stalkless leaves at the summit of a simple stem, with a solitary flower in the middle. In America also called wake-robin. Also, a plant of this genus.
1760. J. Lee, Introd. Bot. (1788), 300. Trillium, Herb True-love of Canada.
1846. Penny Cycl., Supp., Trillium.
1873. ‘Susan Coolidge,’ What Katy did at Sch., vii. Each walk … ended in some delightful discovery, trilliums, dog-tooth violets, apple-trees in blossom, or wild strawberries turning red.
1885. Miss Gatty, Juliana H. Ewing, iii. 48. Trilliums are amongst the North American plants which have lately become fashionable.
1904. Farrer, Gard. Asia, 162. Tangles of bamboo, illuminated by the snowy stars of trillium.
