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great white trillium, large-flower trillium, trille grandiflore, white trillium, white wake-robin

spotted trillium, spotted wakerobin

Rhizomes

short, thick, praemorse.

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

Scapes

(1–)2–3(–many), round in cross section, 1.5–3+ dm, thick, glabrous.

1–3, round in cross section, 1.4–4 dm, slender to stout, glabrous.

Bracts

sessile or subsessile (occasionally weakly cuneate basally);

blade dark green with maroon overtones early, ovate-rhombic, 12–20 × 8–15 cm, 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.

Flower

outfacing, erect, odorless;

sepals spreading, flat, green, very rarely streaked with maroon-purple, lanceolate, 20–55 × 12–23 mm, margins entire, apex acuminate or acute;

petals erect basally, recurving somewhat above middle to produce strongly funnelform corolla, obscuring ovary and base of style, white or rarely pink, without V-shaped or other markings, fading to dull pinkish purple, veins of adaxial surface conspicuous but not appearing engraved, shape variable, lanceolate to oblong, obovate, or, rarely, suborbicular, sides often parallel, 4–7.5 × 2–4 cm, thin-textured, base abruptly attenuate, margins overlapping basally, rolled, undulate-wavy in distal 1/2, apex ± acuminate;

stamens straight or barely recurved, 9–27 mm;

filaments white, much shorter than anthers, relatively thin;

anthers recurving slightly, pale yellow, strongly yellow when pollen exposed, long, 5–16 mm, slender, dehiscence introrse;

ovary inconspicuous, pale green or white, ovoid, 6-angled, 8–18 mm, basal attachment narrower than ovary width;

style barely united for 0.5–2 mm or merely closely grouped and separate;

stigmas erect, becoming spreading, weakly connate basally, pale green-white, uniformly linear, 3–18 mm, equaling or exceeding ovary, slender;

pedicel erect-ascending to strongly erect, 2–8+ 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.

Fruits

pale green, odorless, ± globose, obscurely 6-angled, 1.2–1.6 × 0.8–1.4 cm, mealy, moist (not juicy).

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

2n

= 10.

Trillium grandiflorum

Trillium maculatum

Phenology Late spring–early summer (Apr–Jun). Flowering mid winter–early spring (early Feb–early Apr).
Habitat Rich deciduous or mixed coniferous-deciduous upland woods, floodplains, roadsides Rich mesic forests, particularly banks and bluffs of rivers, floodplains, often where quite brushy, rich soils, calcareous soils, alluvium
Elevation 20–700 m (100–2300 ft) 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NS; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Most variants of Trillium grandiflorum have green stripes or markings on the petals, many with numerous (4–30+) extra petals and/or bracts, and, often, much-deformed, monstrous characteristics. G. R. Hooper et al. (1971) showed that mycoplasmic organisms were present in all such forms examined, and were absent from normal plants. Most such forms should not be named taxonomically but, unfortunately, many have been. Nearly all of those that I examined represented stages in the development of the mycoplasma infection. Trillium grandiflorum, unlike most trilliums, produces many-petaled “double” forms. Forma roseum Farwell, opening a striking clear salmon-pink, occurs very rarely throughout the range, but is frequent in mixed or pure colonies along the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

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

In their account of the Carolinas flora, A. E. Radford et al. (1968) did not treat Trillium maculatum or give any explanation of why they omitted this species, which is fairly widely distributed in southeastern South Carolina and morphologically is one of the more distinct sessile trilliums.

Many color forms occur and have been named. In forma luteum J. D. Freeman, for example, all floral organs lack purple pigment, and the petals are clear, soft yellow, whereas forma simulans J. D. Freeman has yellow petals with purple bases, and purple stamens and carpels. These are illustrated in color in F. W. Case and R. B. Case (1997).

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

Source FNA vol. 26. FNA vol. 26, p. 112.
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. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, 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. 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. rhomboideum var. grandiflorum, T. erythrocarpum
Name authority (Michaux) Salisbury: Parad. Lond. 1: plate 1. (1805) Rafinesque: Med. Fl. 2: 103. (1830)
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