Prairie Trillium
Trillium recurvatum
Found in rich soils over calcareous or mafic rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 6 inches–1.5 feet
- Spread
- 9 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- March to May
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 24 Mississippi counties.
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Trilliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Brown/copper or red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Brown/copper or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “6 inches–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “9 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Recurved Trillium
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | S4? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads slowly. Spreads very gradually if left undisturbed. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Mississippi occurrence source
- 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