Giant Purple Wakerobin, Kurabayashii's Wakerobin: Trillium kurabayashii (Synonyms: Trillium angustipetalum, Trillium chloropetalum)

The photo above shows a pair of giant purple wakrobin as seen in the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR........Early April, 2006. Note the mottling on the leaves and the sessile blooms.

Referred to as Trillium angustipetalum in "The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California", the giant purple wakerobin is an attractive perennial wildflower for the woodland garden. The stiff stems are erect to ascending and rise from 20-70 cm high. The trio of stem leaves arise from the same point at the apex of the stem and have sessile or very short petiolate bases. The blades are rounded to obtuse, and are sometimes mottled with light brown, dark green or gray splotches on the upper surface. Each blade measures from 9-25 cm long.

The single flower is sessile and rests direcly upon the leaves. The 3 sepals are oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate in outline and measure from 3-6.5 cm long. The 3 petals are linear to oblong-lanceolate in shape and measure from 5-11 cm long. Both the petals and sepals are dark purple or maroon in color. The sepals are typically spreading while the petals are erect as shown in the photo above. The stamens measure 11-23 mm long. The flowers typically have a musty to fetid odor. I'm assuming this odor would attract flies and other similar insects as pollinators.

Within its natural range, the giant purple wakerobin may be foundin chaparral, woodlands of the foothills and on the forest floor beneath conifers in the mountains.

In the United States, giant purple wakerobin may be found west of the coast ranges from southern California north to southern Oregon

This species has been reported as naturalized in the western Columbia River Gorge, but I have yet to see the plant or know precisely of its location or whether it is native here or introduced.

A nice cluster of blooming giant purple wakerobin as seen at the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.........March 8, 2012.

Young giant purple wakerobins coming up in the webmaster's woodland garden in Gresham, OR........April 13, 2017.

Young and mature giant purple wakerobins in the webmaster's woodland garden.......March 19, 2018. Note the first year seedlings with very narrow leaves in the photo at left..

Flower buds of giant purple wakerobin as seen at left in the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.........March 1, 2019. Giant purple wakerobin produces leaf buds which begin thrusting out of the ground by mid- to late December (at least in low elevation gardens) and the leaves start extending into the air by mid- to late January. Plants seem to handle mid- February snow pretty handily as evidenced by this photo from the webmaster's Gresham garden during a snowstorm on February 19, 2021.

A nice cluster of blooming giant purple wakerobin as seen at left at the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.........March 11, 2014. The photo at right shows giant purple wakerobin in bloom in the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.........March 21, 2019.