Sweet Betsy goes by many names, including Bloody Butcher, Purple Toadshade, and Whippoorwill Flower, and each hints at something real about its character. This native wildflower of the piedmont and mountains of the Carolinas is one of the most robust of the sessile trilliums, meaning the flowers sit directly at the junction of the three large, mottled bracts with no pedicel between them. The wedge-shaped petals, referenced in the species epithet cuneatum, are usually a deep maroon, though some individuals produce greenish-yellow flowers. The blooms carry a fetid smell that attracts flies as pollinators, a strategy common among plants that have opted out of competing for bees and butterflies. Seeds are dispersed by ants, which carry them to their underground nests.

In the garden, Sweet Betsy performs best in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil in part to full shade, in zones 5 through 8. It is one to one-and-a-half feet tall in bloom, spreads slowly by underground rhizomes, and is a larval host plant for both the black-patched clepsis moth and the American angle shades moth. The boldly marked bracts provide several weeks of ornamental interest beyond the bloom period. Like its relatives, it strongly dislikes being moved once established, so place it thoughtfully in a shady or woodland setting from the start.