Trillium foetidissimum |
Trillium chloropetalum |
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fetid trillium, Mississippi River wakerobin, stinking trillium |
giant purple wakerobin, giant trillium, giant wakerobin, sessile trillium, small-flower trillium |
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Rhizomes | horizontal, brownish, thick, short, praemorse, not brittle. |
± erect, brownish, somewhat compressed-thickened, superficially bulblike, praemorse, not brittle. |
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Scapes | 1–2, green to maroon, round in cross section, 0.8–2.8 dm, papillose basally. |
1–3, green, round in cross section, 2–6.5 dm, robust. |
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Bracts | often carried quite horizontally, well above ground, sessile; blade light green or bronze-green, strongly mottled in dark green with central light green stripe, mottling becoming obscure with age but less so than in most species, elliptic-ovate, rarely ± orbicular, 6.7–12 × 3.8–6 cm, not glossy, base evenly tapered to broad attachment, apex obtuse-acute. |
held well above ground, sessile (narrowing of bract blade may give bract subsessile appearance); blade densely to weakly mottled in dark brownish green, mottling becoming more obscure to absent as bract matures, broadly ovate, 7–17.6 × 7.4–17.7 cm, not glossy, apex obtuse-rounded. |
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Flower | borne directly on bracts, odor of putrid meat, especially when in strong sunlight; sepals displayed above bracts, carried almost horizontally, green or green streaked with dark maroon, lanceolate, 16–40 × 4–6 mm, thick-textured, margins entire, apex acute; petals long-lasting, erect, very gradually incurved from base to apex, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, pinkish purple, light to reddish purple, brownish purple, rarely yellow, fading to brownish tones with age, not spirally twisted, not inrolling with age, veins not engraved, narrowly elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.3–0.5 cm, thick-textured, not glossy, margins entire, flat, acute at apex; stamens relatively prominent, erect, 9–25 mm; filaments dark maroon, 3–6 mm, dilated basally; anthers straight, dark maroon-black, 8–15 mm, dehiscence introrse; connectives straight, extended 1–1.5 mm beyond anther sacs; ovary red-purple, ovoid, hexagonal in cross section, 5–12 mm, broadly attached; stigmas erect, divergent-recurved, distinct, dark purple, subulate, nearly as long as ovary, fleshy. |
erect, odor roselike, spicy; sepals spreading-ascending above bracts, green, lanceolate, 35–65 × 7–12 mm, margins entire, flat, apex obtusely rounded; petals long-lasting, erect, connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, yellow, bronze, maroon, brown, deep purple, reddish brown, pink, dark purplish red, purplish bronze, rarely greenish white, not spirally twisted, veins not engraved, oblanceolate to obovate, 6.5–10 × 1.5–2.5 cm, thick-textured, base cuneate, margins entire, apex variably acute to almost truncate, erose; stamens erect, purplish, 17–26 mm; filaments purple, ca. 4 mm, widest at base, much shorter than anther sacs; anthers erect, straight, ± purple-brown, 13–22 mm, dehiscence introrse; connectives purple, straight, extended ca. 1–1.5 mm beyond anther sacs; ovary purple, ovoid, 6-angled, 6–12 mm; stigmas small, divergent or erect, distinct, purple, subulate, 4–8 mm, not fleshy. |
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Fruits | purplish brown, ovoid, 6-angled at least apically, fleshy. |
red-purple, fragrance not reported, ovoid, obscurely 6-angled, 2.5–3 cm, pulpy, juicy. |
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2n | = 10. |
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Trillium foetidissimum |
Trillium chloropetalum |
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Phenology | Flowering late winter–early spring (early Mar [rarely Feb]--early Apr). | |||||
Habitat | River bluffs, ravines, floodplains, low ground, rich woods, road shoulders, silts, sandy-alluvium, loess soils, drier upland oak and pine woods | |||||
Elevation | 40–50 m (100–200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
LA; MS
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CA
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Discussion | Trillium foetidissimum seems tolerant of a wide range of soil moistures and types, from low, swampy woods to high, dry bluffs and ravine slopes. This is the only Trillium known to occur within its Louisiana range (J. D. Freeman 1975). Freeman considered it to be closely related to T. sessile. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). J. D. Freeman (1975) considered that Trillium chloropetalum differs from T. albidum in having introrse (not latrorse) anther sacs, and that the purple pigments present on anther and ovary tissue here are absent in T. albidum. In some places, hybridization between the two certainly has occurred, and a complete range of intergrades exists. This species merits further study. The following varieties are only weakly differentiated and perhaps ought to be dropped. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 110. | FNA vol. 26. | ||||
Parent taxa | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | T. sessile var. chloropetalum, T. giganteum var. chloropetalum | |||||
Name authority | J. D. Freeman: Brittonia 27: 31, fig. 7. (1975) | (Torrey) Howell: Fl. N.W. Amer., 661. (1902) | ||||
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