 As a particularly conspicuous forest flower , T. grandiflorum was designated the provincial emblem of Ontario in 1937 ( Flora Emblem Act ) , and as the state wild flower of Ohio in 1987 . As a symbol of Ontario , a stylized trillium flower features prominently on the official flag of the province 's French @-@ speaking community . It is also frequently used by the Canadian Heraldic Authority to represent Ontario in grants of arms . Although a network of laws make picking wildflowers illegal in the province on any Crown or provincially owned land , it is not , unlike widely believed , specifically illegal ( or necessarily harmful ) to pick the species in Ontario . 
