Trillium albidum |
Trillium recurvatum |
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giant trillium, giant white wakerobin, sessile trillium, smallflower trillium, white toadshade |
bloody butcher, bloody noses, prairie trillium, prairie wakerobin, toadshade |
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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. |
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Trillium albidum |
Trillium recurvatum |
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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 |
CA; OR
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AL; AR; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MI; MO; MS; OH; TN; TX; WI
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 106. | FNA vol. 26, p. 114. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | J. D. Freeman: Brittonia 27: 48, fig. 11. (1975) | L. C. Beck: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 11: 178. (1826) |
Web links |