Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Petals of three

The profusion of threes (three leaves, three bracts, three petals) no doubt caused Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus to give this flowering plant, common to forests in North America and Asia, the name trillium.

Trilliums are delicate plants, requiring shaded areas and soft soils. Most species take up to six years to produce seeds. Several states in the U.S. have made it illegal to pick a trillium.

This particular blossom was photographed south of Fish Creek, Wisconsin. The only way to get a face-on shot of this particular species is to get acquainted with the forest floor, which I did. Orton processing and selective color saturation added in post processing.

White trillium, 70mm macro, 1/125 at f3.5, 100 ISO. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2007 James Jordan.

2 comments:

Wanda said...

Very beautiful, very delicate. It reminds me of a flower that was on my plate of food in Hawaii that I was told was etible.
I would rather wear this one in my hair.

Anonymous said...

I'm from the Northwest and trilliums are native there and I have always loved them. I did not know this information you have given us about them, thanks. V. Schroeder