Blooming in April and May along with its various trillium relatives, this attractive wildflower is identified by the splash of pink or magenta near the throat of the white flower, forming an inverted V. As with other trillium species, three green sepals back the three petals, and the flower is perched on an erect stalk above three broad leaves, pointed at the tip. The generic name, Trillium, means "three-whorl," referring to the leaves. The species name, undulatum, means "wavy," and refers to the edges of the petals. The painted trillium is sometimes called Painted Lady.

Painted trilliums grow in moist forests. This specimen was photographed on a drizzly morning near the gravel road between Big Creek and Cataloochee, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.