Flora of North America species comparison

short, thick, praemorse.

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

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, 1.4–4 dm, slender to stout, glabrous.

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, 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.

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 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.

dark maroon, weakly fragrant of fruit, ± globose to slightly pyramidal, 1–1.6 × 1–1.5 cm, juicy.

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

= 10.