Trillium erectum (Red trillium)

Trillium erectum L.

Red trillium, purple trillium, stinking Benjamin

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Liliales	Includes lilies, tulips, trilliums, greenbriars, and others
Family	Melanthiaceae	Trillium family
Genus	Trillium	“Three-petaled lily”
Species	erectum	Upright

About plant names...

Red trillium is native to North America.

Identification: Plants have one to two round stems, are 12-24" (30-60 cm) high, and are found on forest floors. A whorl of three leaves forms atop each stem, each leaf facing straight upward, with a single flower emerging from the center. Leaves are oval or diamond-shaped in shape, wider at the base, tapering to pointed tips, and with even edges. Flowers are usually maroon, but may also be a brighter red, white, or greenish yellow. They have three true petals and three petal-like bracts, arranged to look like a six-petaled flower. These flowers are sometimes called stinking benjamin or stinking willie because they smell like a wet dog. The odor attracts flies that pollinate the plants. Fruits are dark maroon in color, smelling faintly of fruit, rounded to slightly pyramid-shaped, ⅜-½" (1-1.5 cm) around.

See also this Trillium comparison table.

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones The leaves contain needle-like calcium oxalate crystals called raphides, part of the plant’s defense.