any of several plants belonging to the genus Trillium, of the lily family, having a whorl of three leaves from the center of which rises a solitary, three-petalled flower.
Origin: < NL (Linnaeus), appar. alter. of Sw trilling triplet, alluding to the foliation
tril·li·um (trĭl'ē-əm) n. Any of various plants of the genus Trillium, of North America, the Himalaya Mountains, and eastern Asia, usually having a cluster of three leaves and a variously colored, three-petaled flower. Also called birthroot, wake-robin.
[New Latin Trillium, genus name, probably from Swedish trilling, triplet (from its three leaves), from obsolete Swedish tri, three, from Old Swedish thrīr; see trei- in Indo-European roots.]