Trillium decumbens |
Trillium vaseyi |
|
---|---|---|
decumbent trillium, trailing wakerobin |
sweet beth, sweet trillium, sweet wakerobin, Vasey's trillium |
|
Rhizomes | short, thick. |
short, stout, praemorse. |
Scapes | 1–2, decumbent, usually by an S-shaped curvature, round in cross section, 0.5–2 dm, somewhat stout, slightly expanded toward bracts, densely puberulent, especially just below bracts and on bases of main bract veins beneath. |
1–2 per rhizome terminus, round in cross section, 3–6.5 dm, ± slender to stout, glabrous. |
Bracts | appearing early in season, in good condition for only a few weeks after anthesis, dying back to semipersistent bases early, resting on ground surface, sessile; blade strongly mottled in shades of green and bronze and with silvery overlay, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate to suborbicular, 4–12 × 3.3–7 cm, apex acute to rounded. |
sessile to subsessile; blade rhombic, 10–20 × 6–20 cm, often wider than long, not glossy, base attenuate, apex acuminate. |
Flower | erect, odor unreported; sepals divergent, green- or maroon-streaked, lanceolate-ovate, 22–48 × 9–14 mm, margins entire, flat, apex acute; petals long-lasting, rigidly erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, dark maroon-purple when fresh, fading especially distally to dull reddish brown, greenish brown, or with creamy yellow tones, very rarely pale lemon yellow forms occur, twisted (but not spiraled), linear-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 4–8+ × 0.7–1 cm, thick-textured, margins entire, apex acute; stamens erect, straight, dark purple, 10–25 mm; filaments dark purple, 2–5 mm; anthers straight, dark purple, 9–20 mm, dehiscence extrorse; connectives broad, extending to 3.5–4 mm beyond anther sacs; ovary dark purple, oval, 6-angled, 5–10 mm; stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, sessile, pink or white, subulate, 4.5–8 mm. |
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 | baccate, dark purple, broadly ovoid to subglobose, crownlike, strongly ridged, 1–1.5 × 1 cm, pulpy but not juicy, present and enlarging on naked scapes until early autumn. |
dark reddish maroon, ovoid, obtusely angled, relatively small, 1–1.4 × 1–2 cm, pulpy. |
2n | = 10. |
= 10. |
Trillium decumbens |
Trillium vaseyi |
|
Phenology | Flowering late winter–spring (mid Mar–Apr). | Flowering mid–late spring (late Apr–early Jun). |
Habitat | Thin, open rocky wooded slopes, mature deciduous woodlands, rocky talus and disintegrating shale, flats (floodplains) of small streams and adjacent slopes near river entrance | Rich woods, often on steep slopes, ravines, stream banks, and deep, wind-sheltered, moist coves |
Elevation | 50–200 m (200–700 ft) | 300–700 m (1000–2300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; GA; TN
|
AL; GA; NC; SC; TN
|
Discussion | Trillium decumbens occurs in the Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Plateau physiographic provinces. It has a large, deep, horizontal rhizome, the growing point of which always faces downslope. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 109. | FNA vol. 26, p. 105. |
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | T. erectum var. vaseyi | |
Name authority | Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 158. (1902) | Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 24. (1901) |
Web links |