5. Photo Op! Trilliums in a Kudzu Field

Trillium cuneatum.

Usually nothing much grows in a kudzu field, except, of course, kudzu.  However, occasionally you can find trilliums growing in a kudzu field in the Spring.  The kudzu can actually provide a great habitat for some species of trilliums by mimicking the light levels in a forest.  In the Spring, before the kudzu leafs out, the trilliums get plenty of sunshine just as they would in a leafless Spring forest.  In the summer the kudzu leaves shade the plants and soil, acting as living mulch and keeping the soil moisture levels higher on a mesic site just as the leaves of trees in a forest would.  Kudzu is a legume, related to peas, and absorbs nitrogen from the air into its leaves and deposits it into the soil, thus fertilizing the trilliums.  The nitrogen rich, moist soil and abundant Spring sunlight can help trilliums in a kudzu field grow quite large.  This field in North Georgia has Trillium cuneatum growing in it.

The trilliums in this kudzu patch tend to grow in dense clumps as in this photo.  Click on any of the photos to see a larger image.

Some are quite large.  This one has a green blossom.

This photo gives an you an idea of the range of blossom colors in this population.

This one has a particularly dark blossom.

Dark red blossoms.

Bronze-colored blossoms.

Pale green blossom.

Yellow-green blossoms.

Yellow-green blossom.  Notice the pigmentation and shape of the leaves.  There is a lot of variation in the leaves as well as blossoms.

Multicolored blossoms.

Large plant with multicolored blossom.

Green blossom with red along the edges.

In the nearby woods there were more Trillium cuneatum (left, taller plants) mixed with Trillium decumbens (right, plants close to ground).

 -Wayne