purple trillium

American  

noun

1. birthroot.

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Etymology

Origin of purple trillium

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purple trillium

The strong carrion-like odour of the purple trillium is attractive to flies and beetles, while bees and butterflies find the fragrance of the white trillium more to their liking.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study by Ontario. Ministry of Education

"It is first cousin to the trilliums, among the prettiest of our native wild flowers," continues Burroughs, "and the same bad blood crops out in the purple trillium or birthroot."

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

Some weeks after the jubilant, alert robins have returned from the South, the purple trillium unfurls its unattractive, carrion-scented flower.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

But the purple trillium has an additional advantage in both smelling and looking like the same thing - a piece of raw meat past its prime.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

Some brought handfuls of columbine from rocky nooks, and others the purple trillium, that is near of kin to Burroughs's white "wake-robin."

From Nature's Serial Story by Roe, Edward Payson