This is a trillium blossom.
It takes 8 years after germination for a trillium to flower. Each flower yields only one seed pod each year. Each plant can live up to 25 years, and gains all of its nourishment for the remainder of the year during the spring, when its leaves are present. Trillium are propagated by ants (not bees, the wind, or birds). The seeds are covered by a sweet coating which entices the ants to carry seeds underground into their colonies. After eating the coating, the seed germinates in the perfect subterranean environment.
So don't pick the trillium blossoms; every one found in the wild is essentially a little miracle.