Drooping Trillium
Trillium flexipes
Found in moist coves over mafic or calcareous rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1.5–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually 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?
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
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 5 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 63 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (48)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Trillium
- Clepsis melaleucanusBlack-Patched Clepsis, Trillium Tortrix
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
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
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–7b
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
- Flower color
- Red or white
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1.5–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide 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, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Neutral to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Bent Trillium; Nodding Trillium; Trillium erectum var. vaseyi
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia 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

