Trillium albidum |
Trillium vaseyi |
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giant trillium, giant white wakerobin, sessile trillium, smallflower trillium, white toadshade |
sweet beth, sweet trillium, sweet wakerobin, Vasey's trillium |
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Rhizomes | horizontal, ± erect, brown, superficially bulblike, short, thick, not brittle. |
short, stout, praemorse. |
Scapes | often several from same rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 2.2–5.8 dm, stout. |
1–2 per rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 3–6.5 dm, ± slender to stout, 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. |
sessile to subsessile; blade rhombic, 10–20 × 6–20 cm, often wider than long, not glossy, base attenuate, apex acuminate. |
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. |
carried beneath bracts, odor faintly sweet; sepals spreading, pale green, lanceolate-acuminate, 25–50 × 6–18 mm, margins involute, apex acuminate; petals spreading to recurved distally, adaxially crimson, maroon-red, or brownish red, abaxially paler, grayish pink or rose, veins engraved, ovate-suborbicular, 3–6.5 × 4–6 cm, somewhat fleshy, base rounded and overlapping, margins entire, apex acute; stamens conspicuous, ± erect to weakly recurved, 15–25 mm, longer than pistil at anthesis; filaments grayish purple to blackish purple, longer than anthers, 5–12 mm, slender; anthers weakly recurving, grayish purple to maroon, slender, dehiscence introrse; connectives purple, barely equaling anther sacs; ovary small, maroon or dark reddish purple, ± globose to conical-pyramidal, 6-ridged, 3–12 mm, basal attachment less than ovary width; stigmas erect, recurved, distinct, gray-purple, not lobed adaxially, basally widened, ± linear distally, 2.5–6.5 mm, fleshy; pedicel horizontal to declined-drooping, ± straight, 2–13 cm. |
Fruits | green or purplish green, fragrance unknown, ovoid to globose, pulpy, juicy. |
dark reddish maroon, ovoid, obtusely angled, relatively small, 1–1.4 × 1–2 cm, pulpy. |
2n | = 10. |
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Trillium albidum |
Trillium vaseyi |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring (mid Mar–late Apr). | Flowering mid–late spring (late Apr–early Jun). |
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 woods, often on steep slopes, ravines, stream banks, and deep, wind-sheltered, moist coves |
Elevation | 100–200 m (300–700 ft) | 300–700 m (1000–2300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR
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AL; GA; NC; SC; TN
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Discussion | Although sometimes submerged within Trillium erectum, T. vaseyi has a later blooming season, a nodding flower of much larger size, a sweet fragrance, and cove habitat unlike that of T. erectum. In my garden hybridization experiments, T. vaseyi hybrids have different color patterns than T. erectum hybrids. Trillium vaseyi is clearly a distinct species. It frequently hybridizes with T. rugelii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 106. | FNA vol. 26, p. 105. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | T. erectum var. vaseyi | |
Name authority | J. D. Freeman: Brittonia 27: 48, fig. 11. (1975) | Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 24. (1901) |
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