To Honor a Botanical Legend

A couple of weeks ago, the botanical world lost one of its finest when Fred Case passed away at the age of 83. Fred, a botanist and high school biology and natural science teacher, authored three botanical works: Wildflowers of the Northeastern States, Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region, and Trilliums (co-authored with wife Roberta, who was also a teacher and field biologist). The latter of these, which has gained acclaim from gardeners and botanists alike, is one of the most treasured books in my collection.

To honor Fred and Roberta, below are photographs of all but one of the species of Trillium that I saw in 2010 (I did not take a photo of Nodding Wakerobin, Trillium flexipes, which I saw in April at Bentley Woods).

Whip-poor-will Flower (Trillium cernuum), June 7, 2010, Pokegama Wetlands, Douglas County, Wisconsin

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), April 18, 2010, Bentley Woods, St. Joseph County, Indiana

Ozark Wakerobin (Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum), April 22, 2010, Shannon County, Missouri

Bloody Butcher (Trillium recurvatum forma recurvatum), April 18, 2010, Bentley Woods, St. Joseph County, Indiana

Bloody Butcher (Trillium recurvatum forma luteum), April 18, 2010, Bentley Woods, St. Joseph County, Indiana

Toadshade (Trillium sessile), April 21, 2010, Spurgeon Hollow, Shannon County, Missouri

Wood Wakerobin (Trillium viride), April 20, 2010, Victoria Glade, Jefferson County, Missouri

Tapertip Wakerobin (Trillium viridescens), April 25, 2010, Mount Magazine, Logan County, Arkansas

Tapertip Wakerobin (Trillium viridescens), unnamed purple-petaled form, April 25, 2010, Mount Magazine, Logan County, Arkansas

Trillium sp., presumably an unnamed purple petaled and sepaled form of Tapertip Wakerobin (Trillium viridescens) growing in the same colony as plants in the previous two photos, April 25, 2010, Mount Magazine, Logan County, Arkansas