Trillium erectum |
Trillium ludovicianum |
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birthwort, red trillium, red wakerobin, stinking Benjamin, stinking willie, wake-robin |
Louisiana trillium, Louisiana wakerobin |
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Rhizomes | short, thick, praemorse. |
± horizontal, brownish, short, thick, praemorse, not brittle. |
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Scapes | 1–2, often with numerous offsets forming heavy clumps, round in cross section, 1.5–6 dm, ± robust, glabrous. |
1–3, round in cross section, 1.4–2.6 dm, ± slender, glabrous. |
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Bracts | sessile; blade bright green, lacking dark pigmentation, major veins prominent, broadly rhombic to ovate-rhombic, 5–20 × 5–20 cm, about as broad as long, widest near middle, base attenuate, apex acuminate. |
held well above ground, sessile; blade strongly mottled in dark and bronzy green, often with central light strip, mottling becoming somewhat obscure with age, lanceolate-ovate, 5.3–9.5 × 2.3–5 cm, not glossy, margins of distal 1/3 convex-curved to apex, apex rounded-acute. |
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Flower | erect, ascending, or proximal to but above bracts, odor fetid, like a wet dog; perianth open, flat; sepals flat to sulcate apically, green, often streaked or overlain with maroon, occasionally entirely dark maroon, lanceolate-acuminate, 10–50 mm, equaling petals, ± 1/2 petal width, texture leafy, margins entire, apex acuminate; petals spreading, carried in same plane as sepals or ascending slightly, dark reddish brown, maroon, purple, or white, sometimes pale yellow, major adaxial veins prominent and appearing somewhat engraved, usually flat, lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate, or occasionally ovate, 1.5–5 × 1–3 cm, 2 times sepal width, widest near base, heavy-textured, apex acuminate; stamens erect to slightly recurved, 5–15 mm; filaments white, pinkish, or dark purple, ± equaling anthers, but variable within local populations, thin; anthers erect or weakly recurving, dark maroon, grayish maroon, or yellowish, strongly yellow when pollen exposed, 5–12 mm, dehiscence introrse; ovary dark purple to maroon, even in white-flowered forms, ovoid, elliptic to globose, 6-angled, angles forming very low ridges when fruit is ripe, 5–10 mm, broadly attached at base; stigmas recurved, distinct, dark purple, not lobed adaxially, subulate, short, 3–7 mm, ca. 1/2 or less length of ovary at anthesis, fleshy; pedicel straight, erect, or somewhat declined but not strongly recurved below bracts, 1–10+ cm. |
erect, odor of carrion; sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green, lanceolate-oblanceolate, 19–35 × 2.7–4 mm, margins entire, apex rounded or acute to sometimes weakly reflexed; petals long-lasting, faintly introrsely curved-erect-spreading, weakly connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, dark maroon-brown, purplish, or dull greenish, or 2-colored, basal portion purple, distal portion grayish green, not spirally twisted, oblanceolate-linear, 3.5–5.5 × 0.4–0.8 cm, thick-textured, thickened and weakly clawed basally, margins entire, apex acute; stamens erect, straight, 10–18 mm; filaments olive-orange, 2–3 mm, widened basally; anthers erect, straight, olive to orange, 7–20 mm, slender, dehiscence latrorse; connectives olive to orange, straight, scarcely extended beyond anther sac; ovary purple, ovoid, 6-angled, 8–9 mm; stigmas erect, with spreading or coiled tips, distinct, pale purple, subulate, 3–6 mm, ± fleshy. |
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Fruits | dark maroon, weakly fragrant of fruit, ± globose to slightly pyramidal, 1–1.6 × 1–1.5 cm, juicy. |
dark purplish green, little or no odor, ovoid, 6-angled, pulpy. |
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2n | = 10. |
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Trillium erectum |
Trillium ludovicianum |
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Phenology | Flowering late winter–early spring (early Mar–Apr). | |||||
Habitat | Low flatwoods, floodplains along streams, steep ravine slopes leading to floodplains, mixed pine-beech woods | |||||
Elevation | 50–500 m (200–1600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
e North America
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LA; MS |
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The range of Trillium ludovicianum is near to that of T. cuneatum in Mississippi, and the two appear to intergrade. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 98. | FNA vol. 26, p. 111. | ||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 340. (1753) | Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 23. (1901) | ||||
Web links |