Trillium luteum 3qt (Yellow Trillium)

Yellow Trillium, also known as Yellow Toadshade, is a lovely woodland wildflower native to the Southeastern US. It has sessile flowers (not arising from a stalk) which are pale yellow and lemon-scented. The three-parted whorl of leaves is mottled with silver, making for an eye-catching addition to the shade garden. If the plants are left undisturbed and sited in favorable conditions (well-draining, rich, moist woodland soils) they will slowly spread to form loose, attractive colonies. Deer relish Trillium spp. so plant them in a protected location if possible. They will go summer dormant after setting seed.

The seeds of Yellow Trilliums will spread around, often a good distance from the mother plants, with a lot of help from ants! The ants gather the freshly ejected seeds and carry them back to their nests to eat the fleshy appendage attached to the seed coat (called elaiosomes.) The undamaged seeds are then discarded in their midden heaps, which are a perfectly rich and protected substrate for the seeds to germinate in. This mutualistic interaction helps many spring ephemerals to spread around the landscape, since most of their seeds are too heavy for wind transport and unviable if they get desiccated.

Sources:
Growing and Propagating Wildflowers by William Cullina
Herbaceous Perennial Plants by Allan M. Armitage
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
NC State Extension
The Morton Arboretum-Black Walnut Tolerance