I am VERY interested in learning more about this plant, and am eager to hear what other members have to share about it.

This may be a long shot, but could the trillium ovatum?
This is a western native, with petals more pointed than our native grandiflorum. They are white, fragrant, and turn pink as they fade. They can grow in the South, although they are not native, and someone would have had to have originated the planting. Do you think this could be the case?

Could you describe their fragrance for us?

Best wishes,
Matt

Hi Matt,
I am delighted someone else is interested! I am curious why you are. You refer to yourself as "we."

This land is an unlikely place for an introduced species of trillium: it was owned by a poor local White family and borders Cherokee Reservation land. But hey, nothing's impossible. I have only 2 photos, 1 useful, below. The scent argues against T. grandiflorum. However, apparently T. ovatum turns pink, then purple; these turned pink then just faded like T. grandiflorum. The leaves in my photo, however, have a distinct point, like T. ovatum...?

Marjorie

Here is a link that might be useful: Both pics

Well, didn't I do that well! I got petals confused with leaves and forgot the scent. I'm afraid my pic isn't useful after all, as it doesn't show the shape of the petals. My lil point-and-shoot can't handle white, so I gave up photographing them. As for describing the scent... I have a keen nose, scenting things many folks can't. My Stargazer Lily is lovely to me only when it's downwind. I loathe lavender. I am not fond of many florals, preferring those scents described as "woodsy" or even "spicy", though they never seem spicy to me. This was sweet, but clean. It had a great affect on my mood! I don't see how that can be any help, but there it is.

I remembered two things --there had never been so many white trilliums there before this year. To see them, you had to go about 3/4 mile further in. Also, there was a man who lived near there a while (since deceased) who loved flowers and was, in fact, a world traveler (via Army Special Forces).

Maybe T. flexipes? It has fragrance but bends forward more than T. grandiflorum. The books list it a little west of you and in moist sites, but plants don't read books, so there is always a chance you have a "scattered' population, as they say.

T. cuneatum, which is the common one here, has a fragrance that is usually very light, but this past spring I could smell them all over my property. Delicious!!

Hmm. I didn't see stalks on any of the flowers. Seems like I would have noticed that. The USDA site includes me for the T. flexipes area. Moist sites, you say. Interesting! We had a nice wet spring until mid-April, when it just stopped raining through May. All the sweet-smelling trilliums vanished, while the ones further up are still there.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA T. flexipes

NCrescue, you were right! It's T. flexipes! At least some of them are --many, given that heavenly scent. Remembering what you said about moist sites, I left my footpath and walked up and down in the creek. On the bank, there they were, stalks with berries. I got so excited I scared my dogs and almost fell! LOL.

I was calling myself an unobservant disgrace to wildflower lovers everywhere, till I recalled the photo above. Do you know if they ever wait till after flowering to grow the stalk?

Also, do your T. cuneatum have the nice smell every year? I think those are here, but they've never had a scent. I am just East of the Tenn line, BTW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paghat

The T. cuneatums always have fragrance, but some years it is more intense than others. As for the T. flexipes, I have only a few as they are not native around here, so I haven't studied them too closely. Initially, I thought I wanted a Trillium collection, but now I have decided to work only with those that are prevelant in NC...unless someone gives me a few interesting specimens. Ha, ha!

Glad you didn't fall in the creek!