Trillium albidum |
Trillium nivale |
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giant trillium, giant white wakerobin, sessile trillium, smallflower trillium, white toadshade |
dwarf white trillium, snow trillium, snow wakerobin |
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Rhizomes | horizontal, ± erect, brown, superficially bulblike, short, thick, not brittle. |
short, praemorse. |
Scapes | often several from same rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 2.2–5.8 dm, stout. |
usually 1, 6-gonal in cross section, 0.3–0.5 dm at onset of anthesis, expanding to 0.45–0.8 dm, slender, glabrous. |
Bracts | held well above ground, sessile; blade weakly mottled with scattered, darker green spots, mottling often fading later in season, broadly ovate, 10–20 × 12–15 cm, not glossy, base rounded, apex obtuse. |
distinctly petiolate; blade bluish green, elliptic-ovate to ovate, 1.5–4.5 cm × 0.7–34 mm, base abruptly rounded to petiole, apex round-obtuse. |
Flower | borne directly upon bracts, erect, fragrance roselike; sepals conspicuous, spreading, displayed above bracts, pale green, lanceolate, 30–65 × 12–15 mm, margins entire, apex acute; petals long-lasting, usually erect or slightly spreading, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary basally, white to creamy white, rarely soft pinkish rose near base, veins prominent but not engraved, not spirally twisted, obovate, more lanceolate in young plants, 4.8–8 × 2.2–3 cm, widest at or just above middle, ± thick-textured, base cuneate, margins entire, ± flat, apex rounded to acute; stamens erect, greenish white, 15–25 mm; filaments whitish green, 3–4 mm, slender; anthers erect, straight, yellow, 11–20 mm, dehiscence latrorse; connectives straight, extended ca. 1 mm beyond anther sacs, rounded; ovary green or occasionally purple, ovoid, rounded 6-gonal, 6–11 mm; stigmas erect to spreading, distinct, sessile, subulate, 4–7 mm, thin distally. |
erect, fragrance sweet; sepals spreading, flat, bluish green, lanceolate, 10–32 × 2–7 mm, shorter than petals, margins entire, apex obtuse; petals very showy, recurved to erect-spreading, white, veins not engraved on adaxial surface, ovate-elliptic to oblong, 1.5–3.5+ × 0.8–1.5 cm, thin- to firm-textured, margins entire to slightly wavy, apex obtuse-acuminate; stamens straight, 5–18 mm; filaments white, slightly shorter than anthers, slender; anthers straight, pale yellow, 2.5–11 mm, thin, dehiscence introrse; ovary greenish white, ± globular, obtusely 3-angled; style with tips spreading, elongate, 0.5–1.5 mm, slender; stigmas prominent, recurved or curled, connate basally, white, linear, threadlike, 4–12+ mm; pedicel erect in anthesis, rapidly recurving below leaves after pollination, 5–20 cm. |
Fruits | green or purplish green, fragrance unknown, ovoid to globose, pulpy, juicy. |
greenish white, odorless, globose-ovate, 0.6–1 × 0.5–0.8 cm, pulpy, not juicy. |
2n | = 10. |
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Trillium albidum |
Trillium nivale |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (mid Mar–late Apr). | Flowering spring (early Mar–early Apr). |
Habitat | Moist slopes in rich mixed deciduous-coniferous forests or coniferous stands, brushy thickets on flats, open fields, pastures, and fencerows, dense second-growth coniferous forests, floodplains along streams and larger rivers | Forested, limestone-derived soils, alkaline glacial drift or loess, creeping soils at head of ledges, talus of cliff bases, crevices in limestone cliffs, gravelly deposits on higher floodplain riverbanks |
Elevation | 100–200 m (300–700 ft) | 100–300 m (300–1000 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR
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IA; IL; IN; KY; MD; MI; MN; MO; NE; OH; PA; SD; WI; WV
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Discussion | Trillium nivale occurs primarily at the southern edge of Pleistocene glaciation and shuns humus, leaf deposits, and much plant competition. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 106. | FNA vol. 26, p. 100. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | J. D. Freeman: Brittonia 27: 48, fig. 11. (1975) | Riddell: Syn. Fl. West. States, 93. (1835) |
Web links |