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bent trillium, declined trillium, drooping trillium, nodding wakerobin

painted lady, painted trillium, painted wakerobin, trille ondulé

Rhizomes

somewhat erect, thick, praemorse.

horizontal, short, stout, ± praemorse.

Scapes

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

1–3, dark greenish maroon, round in cross section, 1.1–4 dm, 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.

strongly petiolate;

blade dark green over maroon, main veins prominent, ovate to long-acuminate, 12–18 × 8–20 cm, ± glossy, base above petiole rounded, apex acuminate;

petiole 4–17 mm.

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.

opening above bracts, erect, odor unknown;

sepals conspicuous, spreading, wine red to dull maroon green, rarely white-striated, lanceolate-acuminate, 13–37 × 4–10 mm, margins entire, apex acuminate;

petals spreading, white, with distinct, inverted, V-shaped, dark-red mark basally, the red radiating outward along major veins, or white and lacking red marks, veins not engraved, oblong-ovate, occasionally lanceolate, usually widest just above middle, 2–5 × 1–2 cm, base tapering very gradually to attachment, margins not undulate basally, undulate apically, apex somewhat rapidly acuminate;

stamens straight, 8–12 mm;

filaments pink or white, equaling or longer than anthers, slender;

anthers erect or slightly spreading, white or pink, 2–7 mm, thin, dehiscence extrorse;

connectives pink, equaling anther sac;

ovary fully exposed, white, pink tipped, obtusely 3-angled, becoming obscurely angled-rotund in cross section, 3–10 mm, broadly attached;

stigmas ascending, barely connate basally, then strongly recurved, white, ± linear, 3–10 mm, uniformly thin;

pedicel erect, 2–5 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.

quickly deciduous upon ripening, scarlet, obscurely 3-angled to cylindrical, 1–2 cm, fleshy, juicy.

2n

= 10.

= 10.

Trillium flexipes

Trillium undulatum

Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–early Jun). Flowering late spring–early summer (late Apr–Jun).
Habitat Rich wooded slopes, floodplains in deciduous forests, especially over limestone Deep acid humus of pine, spruce, hemlock, oak, mixed deciduous-coniferous woods, rhododendron or mountain laurel thickets in s range, almost any acidic forested situation n and ne, often around old Pinus strobus stumps in white birch-red maple-white pine second-growth woods in n range, prefers deep shade except at high elevations in range, not usually found on limestone-derived or basic soils unless in very deep acid humus
Elevation 100–600 m (300–2000 ft) 10–1800 m (0–5900 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
CT; GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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.)

Several forms of Trillium undulatum have been described. One, forma enotatum T. S. Patrick, lacks the usual red, V-shaped petal markings. Other named forms have green petals, extra leaves or petals, and deformities suggesting a mycoplasma infection as in Trillium grandiflorum.

This difficult-to-cultivate species has been reported from Wisconsin, but it cannot be accepted as native there.

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 99. FNA vol. 26, p. 105.
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. simile, T. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Synonyms T. declinatum, T. gleasonii T. erythrocarpum
Name authority Rafinesque: Autik. Bot., 133. (1840) Willdenow: Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin Neue Schriften 3: 422. (1801)
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