Bernice Bjornson had this this to say about the species in 1946:

“Trillium petiolatum has a dark red or purple flowers sitting in the angle made by the three leaves. It has a carrion-like odor in order to attract certain insects. Some hillsides are quite covered with this plant. This is the trillium that has been called “bloody nose”.  The roots of the various species of trillium have been used as medicine, principally for poultices, both by whites and Indians.”

If the Boise Front was once among the areas where hillsides were covered with this distinctive plant, that abundance has been replaced by scarcity.  Very few extant occurrences are currently known within the floristic area, though there are hopefully additional populations in the more remote boundaries of the Conifer Zone, Mid-Elevation, and Lucky Peak zones.