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giant purple wakerobin, giant trillium, giant wakerobin, sessile trillium, small-flower trillium

lance-leaf trillium, lanceleaf wakerobin

Scapes

1–3, green, round in cross section, 2–6.5 dm, robust.

1–2, round in cross section, 1.5–3.2 dm, ca. 2.5–3 times longer than bracts, slender, glabrous.

Bracts

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.

often downturned but leaves held well away from ground, sessile;

blade mottled darker green, mottling becoming obscure in age, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, 5–8.3 × 2–3.3 cm, not glossy, apex blunt or acute.

Flower

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.

erect, no odor reported;

sepals recurved basally and declining to ± same plane of and alternating with leaves, green, lanceolate, 13–20 × 5–7 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, not fully concealing stamens and ovary, maroon-red, purple, greenish tan, or 2-colored, claw dark reddish maroon basally, often twisted, linear to narrowly spatulate, 2.8–6.6 × 20–40 cm, widest above middle, thick-textured, basally clawed, margins entire, apex acute, claw to ± 1/2 as long as expanded limb;

stamens incurved, 13–21 mm;

filaments purple, slender;

anthers weakly to strongly incurved, purple, 4–6 mm, ± slender, dehiscence introrse;

connectives weakly to strongly incurved, purple, extending 1 mm beyond anthers;

ovary dark purple, ovoid-rhomboid, 6-angled, 6–7 mm;

stigmas erect, somewhat divergent-recurved, distinct, purple, nearly linear, obscurely subulate, 3–4 mm, weakly fleshy.

Fruits

red-purple, fragrance not reported, ovoid, obscurely 6-angled, 2.5–3 cm, pulpy, juicy.

baccate, purplish, odorless, 6-angled, prolonged angle folds making fruit appear almost winged, 0.7–1.2 cm, pulpy.

Rhizome(s)

± erect, brownish, somewhat compressed-thickened, superficially bulblike, praemorse, not brittle.

horizontal, white, very slender-elongated, brittle;

internodes elongated.

2n

= 10.

= 10.

Trillium chloropetalum

Trillium lancifolium

Phenology Flowering later winter–spring (Feb–early May).
Habitat Alluvial soils, floodplains, rocky upland woodlands, brushy thickets, canebrakes, heavy shade, or thin, open woods
Elevation 20–200 m (100–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC; TN
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Trillium lancifolium occurs mostly in small, regionally disjunct populations.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
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
Source FNA vol. 26. FNA vol. 26, p. 111.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum
Sibling taxa
T. albidum, T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, T. discolor, T. erectum, T. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, T. grandiflorum, T. kurabayashii, T. lancifolium, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, T. maculatum, T. nivale, T. ovatum, T. parviflorum, T. persistens, T. petiolatum, T. pusillum, T. recurvatum, T. reliquum, T. rivale, T. rugelii, T. sessile, T. simile, T. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
T. albidum, T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. chloropetalum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, T. discolor, T. erectum, T. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, T. grandiflorum, T. kurabayashii, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, T. maculatum, T. nivale, T. ovatum, T. parviflorum, T. persistens, T. petiolatum, T. pusillum, T. recurvatum, T. reliquum, T. rivale, T. rugelii, T. sessile, T. simile, T. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Subordinate taxa
T. chloropetalum var. chloropetalum, T. chloropetalum var. giganteum
Synonyms T. sessile var. chloropetalum, T. giganteum var. chloropetalum
Name authority (Torrey) Howell: Fl. N.W. Amer., 661. (1902) Rafinesque: Autik. Bot., 132. (1840)
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