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green trillium, wood wakerobin

painted lady, painted trillium, painted wakerobin, trille ondulé

Rhizomes

horizontal, brownish, short, slender to stout, praemorse, not brittle.

horizontal, short, stout, ± praemorse.

Scapes

1–3, round in cross section, 2.3–3.4+ dm, ± slender, smooth to scabrous below bracts.

1–3, dark greenish maroon, round in cross section, 1.1–4 dm, glabrous.

Bracts

held well above ground, sessile;

blade green to bluish green, weakly mottled, rarely unmottled, mottling becoming obscure with age, adaxial surface covered with numerous stomata easily visible under a lens, occasionally visible as tiny white dots to the naked eye, narrowly to broadly elliptic, 8–20.5 × 5–8 cm, not glossy, apex blunt to rounded-acute.

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.

Flower

erect, odor of decayed fruit;

sepals displayed above bracts, widely spreading, distal 1/2 often weakly declined, green, lanceolate-acute, 28–60 × 7–9 mm, margins entire, apex acute;

petals long-lasting, erect to widely spreading, ± connivent, ± concealing stamens and ovary, green, yellowish green, yellow, or variously purple streaked throughout, especially basally (rarely all purplish green), not spirally twisted, narrowly spatulate to linear-spatulate, 3.5–6.8 × 0.5–1.5 cm, widest above middle, thick-textured, base narrowed and thickened, ± forming claw, margins entire, apex obtuse, lacking nipple;

stamens relatively straight-erect to slightly incurved, 15–25 mm;

filaments brown-olive, 3–5.5 mm, dilated basally;

anthers erect, straight, olive-brown or purplish, 8–21 mm, ± slender, dehiscence introrse-latrorse;

connectives olive, straight, very slightly (± 0.5 mm) extended beyond sacs;

ovary greenish basally, olive-purplish distally, ellipsoid to ovoid, deeply angled, 5–12 mm;

stigmas spreading-erect, recurved, distinct, sessile, olive or purplish, subulate, 5–10 mm, somewhat 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.

Fruits

greenish white, odorless, ovoid, angled, 1–1.5 cm, somewhat pulpy, not juicy.

quickly deciduous upon ripening, scarlet, obscurely 3-angled to cylindrical, 1–2 cm, fleshy, juicy.

2n

= 10.

= 10.

Trillium viride

Trillium undulatum

Phenology Flowering spring (late Apr–May). Flowering late spring–early summer (late Apr–Jun).
Habitat Rich woods, bluffs, rocky hillsides with some limestone outcrops, woodsy, humusy soil over fairly stiff, clayey substrate Deep acid humus of pine, spruce, hemlock, oak, mixed deciduous-coniferous woods, rhododendron or mountain laurel thickets in s range, almost any acidic forested situation n and ne, often around old Pinus strobus stumps in white birch-red maple-white pine second-growth woods in n range, prefers deep shade except at high elevations in range, not usually found on limestone-derived or basic soils unless in very deep acid humus
Elevation 100–200 m (300–700 ft) 10–1800 m (0–5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
IL; MO
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trillium viride has long been confused with T. luteum of the Smoky Mountain region, though it is far more slender and delicate than T. luteum. Because the pallid forms and so-called albinos of many other sessile trilliums described in written accounts sound much like the description of this plant, early authors ascribed far too wide a range to T. viride. The plant is closely limited to the woodlands of the counties adjacent to the Missouri River in northeastern Missouri and southern Illinois.

Although the ranges of Trillium viride and the very similar T. viridescens do not overlap, both species grow in Missouri, and authors earlier than J. D. Freeman (1975) frequently combined the two as a single species. If all other means of identification fail, the prevalence of numerous stomates on the adaxial bract surface, seen under magnification, will always distinguish T. viride.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 116. FNA vol. 26, p. 105.
Parent taxa Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Phyllantherum Liliaceae > Trillium > subg. Trillium
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. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. undulatum, T. vaseyi, 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. stamineum, T. sulcatum, T. underwoodii, T. vaseyi, T. viride, T. viridescens
Synonyms T. erythrocarpum
Name authority L. C. Beck: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 11: 178. (1826) Willdenow: Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin Neue Schriften 3: 422. (1801)
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