Southern Nodding Trillium
Trillium rugelii
Found in rich woodlands and forests over mafic or calcareous rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to May
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 21 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 132 animals.
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Trillium
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
- Scopula ordinata
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Trillium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Trilliaceae
- Flower color
- Red, pink or purple
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to early May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red, pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Ill Scented Trillium
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | S2? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























