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bent trillium, declined trillium, drooping trillium, nodding wakerobin

confusing trillium, jeweled wakerobin, sweet white trillium

Rhizomes

somewhat erect, thick, praemorse.

forming clumps, stout, praemorse.

Scapes

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

1–many, round in cross section, 3–6 dm, stout, 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.

sessile to subsessile;

blade green, major veins prominent, rhombic, 10–18 × 10–20 cm, not glossy, tapered basally, apex short-acuminate.

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.

above bracts, erect to mostly leaning, odor faintly sweet, applelike;

perianth gaping, strongly 3-dimensional;

sepals spreading, green, flat, oblanceolate-lanceolate, 20–40 × 6–15 mm, margins entire, apex mildly sulcate;

petals spreading-ascending, not recurved to weakly so at tip, creamy white, flat, adaxial veins faintly engraved, ovate to ovate-orbicular, 4–7+ × 1.5–4 cm, 1.5 times as long as sepals, heavy-textured, base rounded, margins entire, apex acuminate;

stamens erect to weakly recurved, 7–20 mm;

filaments purple or brownish, shorter than anthers, slender;

anthers weakly recurved, yellow with brown undertones, 6–20 mm, longer than ovary, slender, dehiscence introrse;

connectives purple-brown, not extending beyond anther sacs;

ovary dark purplish black, pyramidal at anthesis, very strongly 6-angled, 7–12 mm, widely attached basally;

stigmas short, mildly recurved, distinct, purple or yellow, not lobed adaxially, 2–5.5 mm, fleshy, basally widened to gradually tapered;

pedicel ± erect to mostly leaning, 4–9 cm.

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, dark purplish black, odorless, orbicular, 1–1.5 cm diam., fleshy, not juicy.

2n

= 10.

Trillium flexipes

Trillium simile

Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–early Jun). Flowering mid spring (Apr–May).
Habitat Rich wooded slopes, floodplains in deciduous forests, especially over limestone Rich coves of mature forests, edges of Rhododendron thickets and at edges of forests, in moist humus soil
Elevation 100–600 m (300–2000 ft) 500–700 m (1600–2300 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
GA; NC; TN
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

A recent study of matK gene sequencing (S. Kazempour Osaloo et al. 1999) placed Trillium simile with the T. grandiflorum group and T. catesbaei, which has united styles and white-angled ovaries, not with the T. erectum group. In my opinion, this may reflect an error in labeling samples, for T. simile has the dark, round ovary with three, separate, subulate stigmas and other characteristics of the T. erectum alliance. Also, it hybridizes with T. erectum and other species of that alliance. L. Barksdale (1938) described a complex of forms that he considered to be the result of such hybridization. I have seen such complexes near Maryville, Tennessee, where T. simile and T. erectum forma album occur together with a full range of intergrades between the two. Trillium catesbaei and the species related to T. grandiflorum do not hybridize with any species, and all have slightly to clearly fused, linear styles.

Clearly Trillium simile is closely related to T. vaseyi and T. erectum, but it seems to be a distinct species, though somewhat difficult to identify when not in its most robust condition.

J. K. Small (1933) reported Trillium simile to be deliciously fragrant, a quality I have not noticed in my plants.

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 99. FNA vol. 26.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium
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. 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. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Synonyms T. declinatum, T. gleasonii T. vaseyi var. simile
Name authority Rafinesque: Autik. Bot., 133. (1840) Gleason: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 33: 391. (1906)
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