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giant trillium, giant white wakerobin, sessile trillium, smallflower trillium, white toadshade

bloody butcher, bloody noses, prairie trillium, prairie wakerobin, toadshade

Rhizomes

horizontal, ± erect, brown, superficially bulblike, short, thick, not brittle.

horizontal, white, slender, elongated, brittle.

Scapes

often several from same rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 2.2–5.8 dm, stout.

typically 1(–3), round in cross section, 1.5–4.8 dm, slender to robust, 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.

held well above ground, strongly petiolate;

blade at first strongly mottled in darker green or bronze, mottling fading with seasonal expansion after anthesis, rarely all green, ovate, elliptic, or lanceolate, 6–18 × 2.5–6.5 cm, not glossy, apex acuminate;

petiole ca. 1/5 bract length.

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 not reported;

sepals strongly recurved basally and held against scape by turgor pressure, green, sometimes purple-streaked, ovate-lanceolate, 18–35 × 6–18 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, dark maroon purple to clear yellow, occasionally 2-colored with purple and yellow, not spirally twisted, lanceolate to ovate, 1.8–4.8 × 0.9–2 cm, thick-textured, base attenuate to weakly clawed, margins entire, apex acute;

stamens incurved, 10–15 mm;

filaments erect, dark purple, 4–6 mm, ± slender;

anthers strongly incurved above filaments, dark purple, 5–16 mm, ± thick, dehiscence introrse;

connectives strongly incurved inward, dark purple, projecting about 1 mm beyond anther sacs;

ovary greenish with ± purple stains distally, transversely rhombic to angular-ovate, somewhat 6-angled or -winged, 7–10 mm, ± equaling filament height;

stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, ± linear, 4–6 mm, slightly thickened basally.

Fruits

green or purplish green, fragrance unknown, ovoid to globose, pulpy, juicy.

green to white- and purple-streaked, odorless, rhomboid-ovoid, 6-angled, almost winged, ca. 1 cm diam., pulpy.

2n

= 10.

Trillium albidum

Trillium recurvatum

Phenology Flowering spring (mid Mar–late Apr). Flowering spring (late Mar–late May).
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 Rich clayey floodplain soils, plants often temporarily inundated while in flower, rich moist woods and bluffs, limestone-derived soils
Elevation 100–200 m (300–700 ft) 100–200 m (300–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MI; MO; MS; OH; TN; TX; WI
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trillium recurvatum has several named color forms, most notably forma shayi E. J. Palmer & Steyermark with clear yellow petals, and one foliose anomaly (possibly caused by mycoplasma).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 106. FNA vol. 26, p. 114.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum
Sibling taxa
T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. chloropetalum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, T. discolor, T. erectum, T. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, T. grandiflorum, T. kurabayashii, T. lancifolium, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, T. maculatum, T. nivale, T. ovatum, T. parviflorum, T. persistens, T. petiolatum, T. pusillum, T. recurvatum, T. reliquum, T. rivale, T. rugelii, T. sessile, T. simile, T. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
T. albidum, T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. chloropetalum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, T. discolor, T. erectum, T. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, T. grandiflorum, T. kurabayashii, T. lancifolium, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, T. maculatum, T. nivale, T. ovatum, T. parviflorum, T. persistens, T. petiolatum, T. pusillum, T. reliquum, T. rivale, T. rugelii, T. sessile, T. simile, T. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Name authority J. D. Freeman: Brittonia 27: 48, fig. 11. (1975) L. C. Beck: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 11: 178. (1826)
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