Bloomipedia
Prairie trillium (Trillium recurvatum)
Photo: Kaden Slone via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Prairie trillium

Trillium recurvatum

Native in the lower 48

Prairie trillium is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 4 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–May.

17states
4of our state lists
18,634U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri

Quick look

Trillium recurvatum, the prairie trillium, toadshade, or bloody butcher, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to parts of central and eastern United States, where it is found from Iowa south to Texas and east to North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It grows in mesic forests and savannas, often in calcareous soils.

  • It belongs to the Melanthiaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 17 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Iowa. NatureServe
  • In Illinois, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–May. iNaturalist
  • In Indiana, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–May. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 9,768 research-grade sightings of it in Illinois, ranking #2 among the 109 flowers on our Illinois list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 3,700 research-grade sightings of it in Indiana, ranking #8 among the 109 flowers on our Indiana list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 951 research-grade sightings of it in Missouri, ranking #68 among the 109 flowers on our Missouri list. iNaturalist

Prairie trillium gift ideas

Handmade prairie trillium gifts from independent makers.

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (4,293 records)
Bloom time in each of our 4 states
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
IllinoisNativeApril–May9,768
IndianaNativeApril–May3,700
MissouriNativeApril–May951
IowaNativeApril–May556

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
Illinois
Not listed Not on Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Flora (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1050), per the Endangered Species Protection Board's 2025 checklist. NatureServe: S5, secure in Illinois. IL E&T checklist 2025
Indiana
No list Indiana has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the DNR keeps a rare plant list, but it isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Indiana ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in Indiana.
Missouri
Not listed Not on Missouri Wildlife Code endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111), plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Missouri. 3 CSR 10-4.111
Iowa
Not listed Not on Iowa endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-77.3). NatureServe: S3, vulnerable in Iowa. IAC 571-77.3
Rare elsewhere
Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: AL (S2), LA (S2), MI (S2), NC (S1), TX (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Please leave it where it grows

Please don't pick or dig this flower: NatureServe ranks it S3 in Iowa. NatureServe

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no edibility or poison notes on its page), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people. NC State Extension

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records prairie trillium in 17 states.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin.

Illinois counties with USDA records: Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lake, Lawrence, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Winnebago, Woodford.

Indiana counties with USDA records: Benton, Blackford, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Fulton, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Porter, Posey, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, St. Joseph, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, Warrick, Washington, Wayne, Wells, White.

Missouri counties with USDA records: Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Franklin, Greene, Howard, Howell, Jefferson, Madison, Oregon, Ozark, Perry, Pettis, Ripley, Scott, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Stone, Wayne.

More Illinois flowers

Large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Large white trillium

Trillium grandiflorum

★ OH state wildflowerNative

🌼 Blooms in IL: April–May
Toadshade (Trillium sessile)

Toadshade

Trillium sessile

Native

🌼 Blooms: March–May
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Native

🌼 Blooms in IL: June–August

Sources