Trillium nivale

Trillium nivale, the snow trillium or dwarf white trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to parts of the east and midwest United States, primarily the Great Lakes States, the Ohio Valley, and the Upper Mississippi Valley, as far north as central Minnesota. Trillium nivale is a perennial herbaceous plant that flowers late winter or early spring, occasionally while snow is still on the ground. Along the Ohio River valley, flowers may be seen in early March. At its northern limit in Minnesota, it blooms in early April. Along with the eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), T. nivale is one of the earliest flowering spring ephemerals. Given its winter hardiness, one would expect the range of T. nivale to extend farther north, but curiously this is not the case. Soon after pollination the pedicel turns downward, so that by the time the fruit is mature, it is hanging below the leaves. In June, the seeds are shed and the entire portion of th......read more on Wikipedia.