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bent trillium, declined trillium, drooping trillium, nodding wakerobin

lance-leaf trillium, lanceleaf wakerobin

Scapes

1–several from single rhizome, round in cross section, 2–5 dm, glabrous.

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

Bracts

sessile;

blade medium green without red or maroon undertones, rhombic, 7–25 × 7–25 cm, frequently wider than long, base attenuate from just above middle, apex acuminate.

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

flexed ca. 90° on summit of pedicel to face outward rather than upward, or variously carried on strongly declined pedicels;

sepals weakly recurved, green, lanceolate, 14–45 mm, shorter than or barely equaling petals, margins entire, apex acuminate;

petals flat or recurved in distal 1/2, creamy white, not 2-colored, veins conspicuously engraved, ovate-lanceolate to broadly ovate, 2–5 × 1–4 cm, texture heavy, margins entire, apex acute;

stamens large, ± erect, 9–23 mm;

filaments white, less than 1/2 anther length, thin;

anthers straight or very slightly recurving, creamy white or yellow, 5–18 mm, thick, dehiscence ± introrse;

ovary white, ovoid to flask-shaped, strongly 6-angled, 5–16 × 4–12 mm, widely attached basally;

stigmas recurved, distinct but closely grouped, white, not lobed adaxially, linear-subulate, short, thick, 4–13 mm, ± equaling ovary, fleshy;

pedicel stiffly erect, carried horizontally, or declined beneath bracts, rarely recurved, 4–12 cm.

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

baccate, rosy red to purplish, fragrant of ripe fruit, ovoid to somewhat pyramidal at summit, strongly angled, 2–3.5 × 1–3 cm, very juicy at maturity.

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

Rhizome(s)

somewhat erect, thick, praemorse.

horizontal, white, very slender-elongated, brittle;

internodes elongated.

2n

= 10.

= 10.

Trillium flexipes

Trillium lancifolium

Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–early Jun). Flowering later winter–spring (Feb–early May).
Habitat Rich wooded slopes, floodplains in deciduous forests, especially over limestone Alluvial soils, floodplains, rocky upland woodlands, brushy thickets, canebrakes, heavy shade, or thin, open woods
Elevation 100–600 m (300–2000 ft) 20–200 m (100–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; DE; IA; IL; IN; KY; MI; MN; MO; NY; OH; PA; SD; TN; VA; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC; TN
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Although there are no named varieties of Trillium flexipes, many forms exist and at least one has been named, forma walpolei (Farwell) Fernald. F. W. Case and G. L. Burrows (1962) mapped the occurrence of forma walpolei for Michigan and found it to occur only along the contact zone between T. flexipes and T. erectum. F. W. Case and R. B. Case (1993) crossed typical T. erectum and T. flexipes to produce identical color variations as occur in these wild, mixed-species populations. I consider this form to be a hybrid expression. Some of the hybrids have petals colored proximally and white distally, superficially resembling T. undulatum. Dried specimens, when hastily examined, resemble T. undulatum superficially and probably account for reports of that species from locations near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and various places in Indiana and Illinois, all of which are well out of the range of T. undulatum.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 99. FNA vol. 26, p. 111.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum
Sibling taxa
T. albidum, T. angustipetalum, T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. chloropetalum, T. cuneatum, T. decipiens, T. decumbens, T. discolor, T. erectum, 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
Synonyms T. declinatum, T. gleasonii
Name authority Rafinesque: Autik. Bot., 133. (1840) Rafinesque: Autik. Bot., 132. (1840)
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