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mottled wakerobin, pale yellow trillium, small yellow toadshade

spotted trillium, spotted wakerobin

Rhizomes

horizontal, brownish, short or somewhat compressed-thickened, bulblike, praemorse, not brittle.

horizontal, brownish, short, thick, praemorse, not brittle.

Scapes

1–2, 1–2.2 dm, slender, essentially glabrous.

1–3, round in cross section, 1.4–4 dm, slender to stout, glabrous.

Bracts

held well above ground, sessile;

blade mottled dark green over lighter green, mottling fading or blurring with time, ovate, elliptic to almost circular, 6–13 × 4–7 cm, apex acute to acuminate.

held well above ground, tips only touching ground in early anthesis, sessile;

blade dark green, mottling darker, mottled to varying degrees, mottling becoming obscure with age, broadly ovate-elliptic to elliptic, 7–15 × 4.6–6.7 cm, not glossy, apex rounded or barely acuminate.

Flower

erect, odor faintly pleasant, resembling sweetshrub (Calycanthus sp.);

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green, oblong-lanceolate, shorter than petals, 20–30 × 7–19 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary to spreading distally, soft pale sulfur-yellow, fading to ± cream, sometimes slightly spirally twisted, widely spatulate, clawed basally, 2.2–5 × 0.9–1.5 cm, thick-textured, margins entire, often upraised adaxially, at least 1 petal with apex strongly apiculate, nipplelike, others with apex apiculate-acuminate;

claw green, sometimes obscurely marked or mottled with purple, broadly cuneate;

stamens incurved-erect, 8–15 mm;

filaments purple, 1–2.5 mm;

anthers erect, straight or arcuate, brown, 6.5–14 mm, dehiscence introrse-latrorse;

connectives straight, extending 1–2 mm beyond anthers;

ovary purplish, ovoid, 6-ridged, 2.5–8.5 mm;

stigmas divergent to erect, distinct, purplish white, subulate, short, 2–6 mm, ± fleshy.

erect, odor faintly spicy and bananalike;

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading almost to horizontal, often suffused or streaked with purple-maroon, lanceolate-linear, 22–50 × 5–7 mm, margins entire, apex rounded-acute, recurving slightly;

petals long-lasting, spreading-erect, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary or sometimes slightly spreading early, only partially obscuring stamens, becoming more erect and even touching in the manner of Trillium cuneatum when older, clear dark red-maroon, or reddish purple, without muddy or brown tones of many purple sessile species, or, rarely, purple basally and yellow toward apex, or clear sulfur yellow, not spirally twisted, narrowly oblanceolate-spatulate to linear-spatulate, widest above middle, narrowing to apex, 4–7 × 0.7–1.7 cm, thick-textured, margins entire, slightly involute in proximal 1/2, apex acute to round-acute;

stamens erect, 12–20 mm;

filaments dark purple, 2–3 mm, widest at base, much shorter than anther sacs;

anthers erect, straight, brownish purple, 10–16 mm, dehiscence introrse on broad connective;

connectives brown-purple, straight, essentially not extended beyond anther sacs;

ovary dark purple, ovoid, weakly 3-angled to smooth (rarely very obscurely 6-angled), angles often obscured in large, turgid ovary, 8–11 mm;

stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, purplish, subulate, 2–4 mm, fleshy.

Fruits

baccate, greenish white, subglobose, weakly 6-winged, 1–5 × 1 cm, pulpy or mealy, not juicy.

dark purplish green, odor not reported, ovoid, obscurely 3- to 6-angled, bearing persistent stigma, 1 × 2 cm, pulpy.

2n

= 10.

Trillium discolor

Trillium maculatum

Phenology Flowering spring (mid Apr–early May). Flowering mid winter–early spring (early Feb–early Apr).
Habitat Rather acidic to clearly circumneutral or basic soils of mixed deciduous forests, often under oaks, near Rhododendron thickets, or near tangles of Leucothoë on moist stream banks, slopes near streams Rich mesic forests, particularly banks and bluffs of rivers, floodplains, often where quite brushy, rich soils, calcareous soils, alluvium
Elevation 100–200 m (300–700 ft) 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
GA; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trillium discolor occurs only in the upper drainage of the Savannah River, but it is locally frequent within its limited range.

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

In their account of the Carolinas flora, A. E. Radford et al. (1968) did not treat Trillium maculatum or give any explanation of why they omitted this species, which is fairly widely distributed in southeastern South Carolina and morphologically is one of the more distinct sessile trilliums.

Many color forms occur and have been named. In forma luteum J. D. Freeman, for example, all floral organs lack purple pigment, and the petals are clear, soft yellow, whereas forma simulans J. D. Freeman has yellow petals with purple bases, and purple stamens and carpels. These are illustrated in color in F. W. Case and R. B. Case (1997).

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 109. FNA vol. 26, p. 112.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum
Sibling taxa
T. albidum, T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. chloropetalum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, 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. lancifolium, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, 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
Name authority T. Wray ex Hooker: Bot. Mag. 58: plate 3097. (1831) Rafinesque: Med. Fl. 2: 103. (1830)
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