Trillium underwoodii
Trillium undulatum
longbract wakerobin, Underwood's trillium
painted lady, painted trillium, painted wakerobin, trille ondulé
horizontal, brownish, short, thick, praemorse, not brittle.
horizontal, short, stout, ± praemorse.
1–2, round in cross section, 0.8-2 dm, slender to stout, glabrous.
1–3, dark greenish maroon, round in cross section, 1.1–4 dm, glabrous.
usually drooping, often touching ground in early anthesis, sessile;
blade pale silvery green, strongly mottled in 3 or more shades of dark green and bronze, sometimes maroon, mottling becoming obscure with age, ovate-lanceolate to obovate, 6.5–12 × 5–7.8 cm, margins of distal 1/3 straight from rounded base to apex, 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.
erect, odor fetid, especially when first open;
sepals displayed above bracts, spreading, green or purple on adaxial surface, lanceolate, 4.5–5 × 8–12 mm, margins entire, flat, apex rounded-acute;
petals long-lasting, erect-spreading, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary or at least partially obscuring stamens, tips ± incurved, dark maroon-red, or purplish red, brownish maroon, or yellowish green, not spirally twisted, oblanceolate to elliptic, 3–5.5+ × 1–1.5 cm, usually 3–4 times longer than wide, thick-textured, margins entire, apex acute;
stamens ± erect to weakly incurved, 14–17 mm;
filaments purple, 1–2 mm;
anthers 8–15 mm, thick, dehiscence latrorse;
connectives brown-purple, straight, extended 1–2 mm beyond anther sacs, apex somewhat acute;
ovary purple, ellipsoid, 6-angled, 6.3–11 mm;
stigmas erect, abruptly recurved upon ovary, distinct, purplish, linear, 1.5–5 mm, slightly thickened basally, fleshy.
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.
baccate, purple-black to dull greenish maroon, odorless, ovoid to obovoid, 6-angled (-ridged), 0.7–1 cm diam., pulpy, not juicy.
quickly deciduous upon ripening, scarlet, obscurely 3-angled to cylindrical, 1–2 cm, fleshy, juicy.
= 10.
Trillium underwoodii
Trillium undulatum
Trillium underwoodii can cause considerable confusion for the beginning student of the genus. In some ways it closely resembles a small-statured T. cuneatum. As T. underwoodii continues to expand after flowering, it may become somewhat taller and less “ground hugging,” and it then appears similar to a smaller plant of T. decipiens, which grows in parts of the same range, especially when its bracts do not touch the ground at anthesis. It also has vague similarities to T. reliquum, with which it grows sympatrically in parts of its range. Care should be taken to observe the details of floral structure accurately.
Distribution of Trillium underwoodii is much more restricted than that given by J. K. Small (1933), who indicated a range extending from Alabama to North Carolina and Arkansas.
(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.)
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