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Trillium ovatum

Pacific trillium, trillium, western trillium, western wake-robin, western white trillium, white or western trillium, white trillium

Louisiana trillium, Louisiana wakerobin

Rhizomes

semierect to horizontal, short, stout, praemorse.

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

Scapes

1–2, round, 2–5 dm, ± slender, glabrous.

1–3, round in cross section, 1.4–2.6 dm, ± slender, glabrous.

Bracts

sessile, subsessile, or short-petiolate;

blade medium green, sometimes blotched and mottled, main veins prominent, ovate-rhombic, 7–12 × 5–20 cm, continuing to expand during anthesis, base rounded, apex acuminate.

held well above ground, sessile;

blade strongly mottled in dark and bronzy green, often with central light strip, mottling becoming somewhat obscure with age, lanceolate-ovate, 5.3–9.5 × 2.3–5 cm, not glossy, margins of distal 1/3 convex-curved to apex, apex rounded-acute.

Flower

erect or nodding, odorless;

sepals spreading to horizontal, green, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 15–50 × 6–20 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals erect-ascending, usually wide-spreading from base, exposing entire pistil, white or with pink or blush markings, lacking V-shaped markings, fading to rosy pink, purple, or dark red, veins not deeply engraved, ± linear to widely obovate, 1.5–7 ×1–4 cm, widest at or above middle, thin-textured, margins flat to undulate, apex acuminate;

stamens prominent, slightly recurved-spreading to straight, 10–18 mm;

filaments white, shorter than anthers, slender;

anthers yellow, 4–16 mm, slender, dehiscence latrorse-introrse;

ovary green or white, ovoid, 6-angled, 5–12 mm, attachment ± 3/4 ovary width;

stigmas recurved, barely connate basally, greenish white or white, linear, not lobed adaxially, 6–10 mm, uniformly thin;

pedicel erect to leaning, 2–6 cm.

erect, odor of carrion;

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green, lanceolate-oblanceolate, 19–35 × 2.7–4 mm, margins entire, apex rounded or acute to sometimes weakly reflexed;

petals long-lasting, faintly introrsely curved-erect-spreading, weakly connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, dark maroon-brown, purplish, or dull greenish, or 2-colored, basal portion purple, distal portion grayish green, not spirally twisted, oblanceolate-linear, 3.5–5.5 × 0.4–0.8 cm, thick-textured, thickened and weakly clawed basally, margins entire, apex acute;

stamens erect, straight, 10–18 mm;

filaments olive-orange, 2–3 mm, widened basally;

anthers erect, straight, olive to orange, 7–20 mm, slender, dehiscence latrorse;

connectives olive to orange, straight, scarcely extended beyond anther sac;

ovary purple, ovoid, 6-angled, 8–9 mm;

stigmas erect, with spreading or coiled tips, distinct, pale purple, subulate, 3–6 mm, ± fleshy.

Fruits

baccate, green or white, ± odorless, broadly ovoid, obscurely winged, 1.2–2.8 × 0.7–1.9 cm, pulpy-moist.

dark purplish green, little or no odor, ovoid, 6-angled, pulpy.

2n

= 10.

Trillium ovatum

Trillium ludovicianum

Phenology Flowering late winter–early spring (early Mar–Apr).
Habitat Low flatwoods, floodplains along streams, steep ravine slopes leading to floodplains, mixed pine-beech woods
Elevation 50–500 m (200–1600 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
w North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
LA; MS
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

The range of Trillium ludovicianum is near to that of T. cuneatum in Mississippi, and the two appear to intergrade.

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

Key
1. Bracts sessile; petals lanceolate to obovate, 1.5–7 × 1–4 cm
var. ovatum
1. Bracts distinctly short-petiolate; petals linear to linear-lanceolate, 0.5–2.4 × 0.2–0.6 cm
var. oettingeri
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 100. 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. flexipes, T. foetidissimum, T. gracile, T. grandiflorum, T. kurabayashii, T. lancifolium, T. ludovicianum, T. luteum, T. maculatum, T. nivale, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
T. ovatum var. oettingeri, T. ovatum var. ovatum
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 245. (1814) Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 23. (1901)
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