Trillium catesbaei
Trillium luteum
bashful trillium, bashful wakerobin, Catesby's trillium
wax trillium, yellow toadshade, yellow trillium, yellow wakerobin
short, tapered to a point distally.
horizontal, brownish, short, thick, praemorse, not brittle.
1–2, round in cross section, 2–4.5 dm, slender, glabrous.
1–4, round in cross section, 1.4–4 dm, stout, glabrous.
usually raised somewhat, exposing flower;
blade green, often with underlying purplish maroon in well-lighted plants, major veins on adaxial surface deeply engraved, elliptic-ovate, 6.5–15 × 4–8 cm, including elongated, petiolelike base, proximal 1/3 of leaf gradually tapered to base, margins often slightly raised, apex blunt-acute to acuminate.
held well above ground, sessile;
blade mottled, mottling becoming more obscure as growth matures, shape variable, ovate-elliptic to ± orbicular-acuminate, 6.5–17 × 6.5–9.8 cm, not glossy, apex acuminate to long-acuminate.
opening at or recurved below bracts, rarely erect;
sepals falcate-recurved, green or streaked with purple, linear-lanceolate, 20–45 × 7–8 mm, margins ± flat, apex acuminate;
petals falcate-recurved distally, white, pink, or rose, darkening to pink or nonfading with age, veins visible but not appearing engraved, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 3.5–5 × 1–2+ cm, thin-textured, bases somewhat imbricated, forming funnel-like tube, margins undulate, apex acuminate;
stamens prominent, recurved, 16–25 mm;
filaments white, slightly longer and narrower than anthers;
anthers recurving, bright yellow, 5–14 mm, thick, dehiscence introrse;
ovary inconspicuous, white, angular-ovoid, deeply 6-angled, 4–12 × 3–7 mm, slender, base narrow;
style 2–6 mm;
stigmas prominent, strongly curled (circinate) to erect, connate basally, pale green or white, not lobed, 4–10 mm, uniformly thin;
pedicel deflexed or recurved, rarely erect, angled, 2–4(–5) cm.
erect, odor strongly lemony;
sepals displayed above bracts, widely spreading, green, oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate, or oblong-elliptic, 22–47 × 8–9 mm, margins entire, apex distinctly rounded-acute;
petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, greenish yellow to lemon yellow, not spirally twisted, not clawed, elliptic-lanceolate, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 3.4–6.6 × 1–2.1 cm, thick-textured, widest near base, margins entire, tapering to long-acuminate apex;
stamens erect, 11–18 mm;
filaments greenish white, 1.5–2 mm, basally dilated;
anthers erect, straight, yellow, 9–16 mm, dehiscence introrse (or appearing lateral);
connectives green, straight, broad, extending only slightly (to 0.5 mm) or not at all beyond anther sacs;
ovary pale green, ovoid to globose, 6-angled, 5–8 mm;
stigmas erect, barely spreading, distinct, greenish white, sessile, linear to subulate, 3–4 mm, fleshy.
baccate, greenish or whitish, ovoid-globose, angles less prominent when mature, 1–1.5 cm diam., pulpy but not juicy.
green to greenish white, occasionally with dark streaks, odor not reported, ovoid, 6-angled, 3.5 × 2 cm, pulpy.
= 10.
Trillium catesbaei
Trillium luteum
Elliott, author of Trillium catesbaei, apparently recognized one of its forms separately as T. nervosum. This name is still mentioned in British horticultural and botanical literature, but it is rarely found in U.S. literature. North American botanists treat T. nervosum as a synonym of T. catesbaei.
Plants of Trillium catesbaei from deep coves in South Carolina tend to have petals that are deeper pink and longer and wider than those of many other populations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Botanists have been confused by Trillium luteum for a long time. Some, such as A. E. Radford et al. (1968), appear to regard it as a form of T. cuneatum, while others confuse it with T. viride, a more western species. Early botanists confused T. luteum with the occasional individual or very local larger population of pallid color forms of other species. Trillium cuneatum rather frequently produces green, yellowish green, or pale lemon yellow forms (but with a cuneate larger and wider petal) that mimic T. luteum. These forms, when growing with T. luteum, hybridize, leading to so many intergrades that many plants cannot be placed in either species with any confidence. For these reasons, almost no work older than J. D. Freeman’s (1975) can be used reliably to plot distribution of T. luteum.
In some parts of their ranges, Trillium luteum and T. cuneatum do not grow together. Trillium luteum is abundant in eastern Tennessee, extending a short distance into North Carolina and Georgia. Trillium cuneatum is rare or absent from this region except along the Little Tennessee River (J. D. Freeman 1975).
Trillium luteum has escaped and become established along the Grand and Saint Joseph rivers and elsewhere in Michigan, near Kingston and Grimsby, Ontario (J. K. Morton pers. comm.), and probably elsewhere.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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