Named for George Richard Vasey (1852-1921), son of George Vasey (a doctor and later botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture), who collected plants in California for the government in 1876 and 1880 and later settled in Washington state
Vasey's trillium is native to the southeastern United States.
Identification: Plants have one to two round stems, and
are 12-26″ (30-65 cm) tall. Three leaves form a whorl atop each stem. Leaves are almost triangular
in shape, sometimes wider near the base than they are long, 4-8″ (10-20 cm) × 2-8″ (6-20 cm)
in size. While the flower appears above the leaves in many species of Trillium, these droop
below, on a short petiole. Each flower is maroon (rarely yellow) in color, with three petals,
1-2½″ (3-6.5 cm) × 1½-2″ (4-6 cm).
Each flower has a mild sweet odor.
Fruits are dark reddish maroon, generally oval but sometimes with flattened sides,
⅜-½″ (1-1.4 cm) × ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm).