three leaves, three petals, three calyx leaves. the word trillium comes from latin meaning “triplet.” but the latin word is probably borrowed from swedish. why swedish? i can only imagine it has something to do with mr. carl linnaeus, the swedish father of modern taxonomy, who came up with all those arrestingly apt latin terms for our natural world. thanks, carl, for the word trillium. it’s one of my favorites.

pressed great white trillium

saint paul, minnesota