Trillium cernuum
Trillium chloropetalum
nodding trillium, nodding wakerobin, trille penché, whip-poor-will-flower
giant purple wakerobin, giant trillium, giant wakerobin, sessile trillium, small-flower trillium
short, thick.
± erect, brownish, somewhat compressed-thickened, superficially bulblike, praemorse, not brittle.
1–2(–3), round in cross section, 1.5–4+ dm, slender, glabrous.
1–3, green, round in cross section, 2–6.5 dm, robust.
often overlapping, sessile or with a barely noticeable, petiolelike base, umbrellalike;
blade bright green without red tones, broadly rhombic-ovate to suborbicular, 5–15 × 6–15+ cm, base attenuate, apex acuminate.
held well above ground, sessile (narrowing of bract blade may give bract subsessile appearance);
blade densely to weakly mottled in dark brownish green, mottling becoming more obscure to absent as bract matures, broadly ovate, 7–17.6 × 7.4–17.7 cm, not glossy, apex obtuse-rounded.
usually hidden beneath bracts, nodding, odorless;
sepals spreading, green, lanceolate-ovate, 9–30 mm, slightly shorter than to equaling petals, margins slightly raised, apex acuminate;
petals usually strongly recurved from above base, extending behind plane of sepal bases for more than 1/2 their length, white or rarely pale pink, adaxial veins not conspicuous, oblong-lanceolate, 1.5–2.5 × 0.9–1.5 cm, thin-textured, margins entire, apex acuminate;
stamens ± straight, 6–15 mm, shorter than pistil, slender;
filaments white, ± equaling anthers, slender;
anthers straight, pale lavender-pink or -gray, 2–6.5 mm, dehiscence introrse to latrorse;
ovary prominent, white to pinkish, pyramidal, strongly 6-angled, 3–12 × 3–10 mm, widest above basal attachment;
stigmas erect, recurved, distinct, white, not lobed adaxially, 3–8 mm, widest at base, fleshy, basally thickened, gradually tapered;
pedicel strongly recurved or declined below or angled between bracts, 1.5–3 cm.
erect, odor roselike, spicy;
sepals spreading-ascending above bracts, green, lanceolate, 35–65 × 7–12 mm, margins entire, flat, apex obtusely rounded;
petals long-lasting, erect, connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, yellow, bronze, maroon, brown, deep purple, reddish brown, pink, dark purplish red, purplish bronze, rarely greenish white, not spirally twisted, veins not engraved, oblanceolate to obovate, 6.5–10 × 1.5–2.5 cm, thick-textured, base cuneate, margins entire, apex variably acute to almost truncate, erose;
stamens erect, purplish, 17–26 mm;
filaments purple, ca. 4 mm, widest at base, much shorter than anther sacs;
anthers erect, straight, ± purple-brown, 13–22 mm, dehiscence introrse;
connectives purple, straight, extended ca. 1–1.5 mm beyond anther sacs;
ovary purple, ovoid, 6-angled, 6–12 mm;
stigmas small, divergent or erect, distinct, purple, subulate, 4–8 mm, not fleshy.
dark red, with fruity fragrance, ovoid, to 3 cm diam., fleshy, juicy.
red-purple, fragrance not reported, ovoid, obscurely 6-angled, 2.5–3 cm, pulpy, juicy.
= 10.
= 10.
Trillium cernuum
Trillium chloropetalum
Previous authors commonly recognized var. cernuum and var. macranthum, based primarily upon size differences. Plants attributed to var. cernuum are found from Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania northward to Newfoundland, while those attributed to var. macranthum are found mainly farther inland into the Midwest. Although there is a tendency for the eastern seaboard plants to be somewhat smaller and more delicate, and the midwestern and far northern plants to be more robust, there is much variation, largely dependent on soil nutrients. There are regional size trends, but based on my observations of this species in Newfoundland, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, I do not believe that the two varieties can be maintained.
In the Gray Herbarium, there is a collection by Richardson labeled “Mackenzie River,” which has been cited by H. M. Raup (1947) and others. W. J. Hooker ([1829–]1833–1840) reported Trillium cernuum “from Saskatchewan to Mackenzie River.” Raup stated that “it is the only evidence for the occurrence of...Trillium in the entire Mackenzie Basin.” Other writers have simply quoted that statement. In view of the relatively great disjunction from the known Saskatchewan stations and in the absence of any other supporting specimens from that area, I believe that there might be locality error on the Richardson sheet. However, it is not beyond possibility that T. cernuum could occur there. This apparent disjunct station is not mapped here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
J. D. Freeman (1975) considered that Trillium chloropetalum differs from T. albidum in having introrse (not latrorse) anther sacs, and that the purple pigments present on anther and ovary tissue here are absent in T. albidum. In some places, hybridization between the two certainly has occurred, and a complete range of intergrades exists.
This species merits further study. The following varieties are only weakly differentiated and perhaps ought to be dropped.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petal tissue always with yellow pigments, often present with other pigments; petals yellow, greenish yellow, greenish purple, or bronze-green or brown. | var. chloropetalum |
1. Petal tissue lacking yellow pigments; petals purple, reddish purple, garnet red, pink, or greenish white. | var. giganteum |
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