Trillium cernuum
Trillium flexipes
nodding trillium, nodding wakerobin, trille penché, whip-poor-will-flower
bent trillium, declined trillium, drooping trillium, nodding wakerobin
short, thick.
somewhat erect, thick, praemorse.
1–2(–3), round in cross section, 1.5–4+ dm, slender, glabrous.
1–several from single rhizome, round in cross section, 2–5 dm, glabrous.
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.
sessile;
blade medium green without red or maroon undertones, rhombic, 7–25 × 7–25 cm, frequently wider than long, base attenuate from just above middle, apex acuminate.
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.
flexed ca. 90° on summit of pedicel to face outward rather than upward, or variously carried on strongly declined pedicels;
sepals weakly recurved, green, lanceolate, 14–45 mm, shorter than or barely equaling petals, margins entire, apex acuminate;
petals flat or recurved in distal 1/2, creamy white, not 2-colored, veins conspicuously engraved, ovate-lanceolate to broadly ovate, 2–5 × 1–4 cm, texture heavy, margins entire, apex acute;
stamens large, ± erect, 9–23 mm;
filaments white, less than 1/2 anther length, thin;
anthers straight or very slightly recurving, creamy white or yellow, 5–18 mm, thick, dehiscence ± introrse;
ovary white, ovoid to flask-shaped, strongly 6-angled, 5–16 × 4–12 mm, widely attached basally;
stigmas recurved, distinct but closely grouped, white, not lobed adaxially, linear-subulate, short, thick, 4–13 mm, ± equaling ovary, fleshy;
pedicel stiffly erect, carried horizontally, or declined beneath bracts, rarely recurved, 4–12 cm.
dark red, with fruity fragrance, ovoid, to 3 cm diam., fleshy, juicy.
baccate, rosy red to purplish, fragrant of ripe fruit, ovoid to somewhat pyramidal at summit, strongly angled, 2–3.5 × 1–3 cm, very juicy at maturity.
= 10.
= 10.
Trillium cernuum
Trillium flexipes
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.)
Although there are no named varieties of Trillium flexipes, many forms exist and at least one has been named, forma walpolei (Farwell) Fernald. F. W. Case and G. L. Burrows (1962) mapped the occurrence of forma walpolei for Michigan and found it to occur only along the contact zone between T. flexipes and T. erectum. F. W. Case and R. B. Case (1993) crossed typical T. erectum and T. flexipes to produce identical color variations as occur in these wild, mixed-species populations. I consider this form to be a hybrid expression. Some of the hybrids have petals colored proximally and white distally, superficially resembling T. undulatum. Dried specimens, when hastily examined, resemble T. undulatum superficially and probably account for reports of that species from locations near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and various places in Indiana and Illinois, all of which are well out of the range of T. undulatum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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