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Barksdale trillium, furrowed wakerobin, southern red trillium

Blue Ridge wakerobin, twisted trillium

Rhizomes

horizontal–slightly erect, thick, praemorse.

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

Scapes

1–4+, round in cross section, 3–7 dm, 2–2.5 times as long as bract, stout, glabrous.

1–3, round in cross section, 1.5–3 dm, slender to stout, pilose-pubescent, rarely glabrous.

Bracts

subsessile;

blade obovate to broadly elliptic, 13–20 × 8–22 cm, not glossy, base attenuate, apex acuminate.

held well above ground, sessile;

blade light silvery or bluish green with strong to faint mottling in darker colors, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate-lanceolate to broadly ovate, 6.3–7.6 × 3.3–5 cm, larger bracts abaxially pilose-pubescent, margins entire, apex acute.

Flower

facing outward at right angle to pedicel, above bracts, odor faintly musty, like fresh fungus;

perianth gaping, strongly 3-dimensional;

sepals spreading, usually streaked or entirely purplish maroon, occasionally entirely green except on margins, elliptic, 15–38 × 9–15 mm, margins entire, apex strongly sulcate-acuminate;

petals carried somewhat forward to recurved-spreading in distal 1/2, usually dark reddish maroon to purplish, rarely cream to soft yellow, pink, white, or 2-colored, heavy-veined, ovate to broadly ovate-overlapping, 1.8–5 × 1–3 cm, heavy-textured, apex acuminate, rarely somewhat sulcate;

stamens erect, ± equaling or slightly longer than ovary, 15–18 mm;

filaments purple to white, 3–5 mm, slender;

anthers straight, purplish to yellow, 5–12 mm, thick, dehiscence introrse;

connectives equaling or ± shorter than anther sacs;

ovary usually dark purple, globose to flask-shaped, 6-angled, 14–18 mm, broadly attached basally;

stigmas prominent, recurved, distinct, purple, not lobed adaxially, basally thickened, gradually tapered, 2–5 mm, fleshy;

pedicel usually stiffly erect (rarely almost horizontal above bracts), straight, reflexed ± 90° at tip, 6–11 cm.

erect, odor strong, of carrion;

sepals displayed above bracts, spreading to ± horizontal position, green, purple markings adaxially, lanceolate-elliptic, 17–40 mm, margins entire, purple, apex acuminate;

petals long-lasting, spreading and carried in ± horizontal position unlike any other sessile trillium, very deep maroon to blackish red, rarely yellow, purple-streaked, with 1–2 spiral twists, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate or linear, narrow, 1.5–3.8 × 0.3–0.6 cm, rarely broader, thick-textured, margins entire, apex sharply acute to rounded, tips incurving slightly;

stamens fully exposed, somewhat stiffly erect, dark purple, 16–24 mm, thick;

filaments dark purple, 2–4 mm, basally dilated;

anthers erect, straight, dark purple, 13–18 mm, thick, dehiscence extrorse;

connectives dark purple, straight, coarse, flat, ± not extended beyond anther sacs;

ovary dark purple, oval, 6-angled, 5–7 mm;

stigmas erect, widely spreading, often strongly recurved or recoiled, distinct, purple, linear, 4–10 mm, slightly thickened basally.

Fruits

red, fragrance of fresh mushrooms, ± globose to pyramidal, 1.5–3 × 1.2–2.8 cm, juicy to pulpy.

baccate, purple, odorless, ovoid, strongly 6-angled, sometimes winged, 2 × 1–1.5 cm, pulpy, moist.

2n

= 10.

= 10.

Trillium sulcatum

Trillium stamineum

Phenology Flowering mid spring (Apr–May). Flowering spring (late Mar–mid May).
Habitat Rich mesic woodlands, especially moist north- or east-facing slopes, wooded ledges and stream banks on neutral to slightly acid soil Dry, upland woods of deciduous trees, deciduous forest mixed with pines, soil on limestone outcroppings, mesic woods, sandy flats along medium streams, steep wooded slopes, banks of rivers
Elevation 300–400 m (1000–1300 ft) 50–200 m (200–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; GA; KY; NC; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; MS; TN
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trillium sulcatum is present mainly on the Cumberland Plateau and is absent from the Great Smoky Mountains and the southern Blue Ridge Mountains.

T. S. Patrick (1984) described Trillium sulcatum flowers as “relatively small and turned downward.” This is true of plants from the type locality; however, in most plants of the Cumberland Plateau, the flowers are quite large and flattened, and the petals are recurved distally and face outward.

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

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 104. FNA vol. 26, p. 115.
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. ovatum, T. parviflorum, T. persistens, T. petiolatum, T. pusillum, T. recurvatum, T. reliquum, T. rivale, T. rugelii, T. sessile, T. simile, T. stamineum, 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. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Name authority T. S. Patrick: Brittonia 36: 27, figs. 1–4. (1984) Harbison: Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 23. (1901)
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