Trillium cuneatum

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Trillium cuneatum
Trillium Nashville.jpg
Cheekwood Botanical Garden
Nashville, Tennessee
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. cuneatum
Binomial name
Trillium cuneatum
Trillium cuneatum in the USA.svg
US distribution by state
Synonyms [4]
Trillium cuneatum
    • Trillium cuneatum f. luteumJ.D.Freeman
    • Trillium hugeriSmall
    • Trillium sessile var. praecoxNutt.

Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet betsy, [5] also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher, [6] is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a subgroup of the sessile-flowered trilliums. It is native to the southeastern United States but is especially common in a region that extends from southern Kentucky through central Tennessee to northern Alabama. [7] In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April (depending on latitude). It is the largest of the eastern sessile-flowered trilliums. [8]

Contents

Description

Trillium cuneatum is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, along with its closest relatives, Trillium luteum and Trillium maculatum . Trillium cuneatum is paraphyletic and morphologically variable. Some populations currently considered to be T. cuneatum are more closely related to T. maculatum than to other T. cuneatum populations. It may be split in the future into several monophyletic species with greater morphological uniformity. [9] All members of the complex are sessile-flowered trilliums.

Trillium cuneatum is a perennial, herbaceous, flowering plant that persists by means of an underground rhizome. Like all trilliums, it has a whorl of three bracts (leaves) and a single trimerous flower with three sepals, three petals, two whorls of three stamens each, and three carpels (fused into a single ovary with three stigmas). [10] It has a sessile flower (no flower stalk), erect petals, and mottled leaves. [11] The broad leaves surround a banana-scented flower with maroon, bronze, green, or yellow petals. [12] It is known for its morphological variability between (and even within) geographically distributed populations. [13]

Taxonomy

Trillium cuneatum was first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1840. [3] The specific epithet cuneatum, which means "narrow below and wide above, wedge-shaped", [14] refers to the tapered shape of the basal half of its flower petal. [15] As of March 2023, the name Trillium cuneatumRaf. is widely recognized. [4] [6] [16] [17] The species is a member of the sessile-flowered trilliums (Trillium subgen. Sessilia), a group of species typified by Trillium sessile. [18]

Based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic evidence, Trillium cuneatum sensu lato is paraphyletic. As of March 2023, available evidence supports a species complex comprising eight distinct taxa, including Trillium luteum and Trillium maculatum , plus two new species (Trillium freemanii and Trillium radiatum). [9]

As of February 2022, Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts no infraspecific names for Trillium cuneatum. [4] Some authorities recognize the name Trillium cuneatum f. luteumJ.D.Freeman, [19] a form marked by the absence of purple pigments from all floral parts. It occurs in the midst of purple-flowered plants throughout the range of the species. Although both have yellow (or greenish-yellow) petals, Trillium cuneatum f. luteumJ.D.Freeman is not regarded as the taxonomic or genetic equivalent of Trillium luteum(Muhl.) Harb. [20]

Distribution and habitat

Trillium cuneatum is endemic to the southeastern United States, ranging from Kentucky southward to southern Mississippi, and to the eastern coast of South Carolina. It is native to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. [4] It has been widely introduced elsewhere, with naturalized populations in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. [21] There are hundreds of observations of T. cuneatum made by citizen scientists outside of its native range, in more than a dozen states, but especially in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. [22]

Trillium cuneatum prefers to grow in rich soils in mostly upland woods, especially limestone soils but also at less calcareous sites. It is found at elevations of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft). [6]

Ecology

In the southern part of its range, from Mississippi to Georgia, Trillium cuneatum begins to flower in early March, with peak flowering occurring around mid-March. In its northernmost populations, flowering occurs in April. [23] [13] In the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee, fruits were observed to ripen and drop off between July 1 and July 10. [24]

In general, Trillium species are myrmecochorous, that is, ants facilitate seed dispersal in most (if not all) species. [2] Since each seed of T. cuneatum has an attached elaiosome, [24] presumably its seeds are dispersed by ants as well.

Related Research Articles

<i>Trillium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Trillium is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia, with the greatest diversity of species found in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.

<i>Trillium chloropetalum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium chloropetalum, also known as giant trillium, giant wakerobin, or common trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is endemic to the western U.S. state of California, being especially frequent in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.

<i>Trillium erectum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.

<i>Pseudotrillium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pseudotrillium is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. Its sole species, Pseudotrillium rivale, is commonly known as the brook wakerobin. It is endemic to the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. The Latin specific epithet rivale means “growing by streams”, with reference to a preferred habitat.

<i>Trillium ovatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium ovatum, the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in western North America, from southern British Columbia and the tip of southwestern Alberta to central California, east to Idaho and western Montana. There is an isolated population in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.

<i>Trillium luteum</i> Species of plant

Trillium luteum, the yellow trillium or yellow wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, especially in and around the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

<i>Trillium sessile</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium sessile is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet sessile means "attached without a distinct stalk", an apparent reference to its stalkless flower. It is commonly known as toadshade or toad trillium. It is also called sessile trillium or sessile-flowered wake-robin, however it is not the only member of the genus with a sessile flower.

<i>Trillium decipiens</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium decipiens, also known as Chattahoochee River wakerobin or deceiving trillium, is a spring-flowering perennial plant. It occurs mostly near the Chattahoochee River in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Scattered populations are found elsewhere in these three states, all within the Atlantic Coastal Plain or Gulf Coastal Plain. Rich deciduous woods of bluffs, ravines, and alluvial land provide its most favored habitat.

<i>Trillium lancifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium lancifolium, the lanceleaf wakerobin, lance-leaved trillium, or narrow-leaved trillium, is a species of plants native to the southeastern United States. It is known to occur in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The species is imperiled in Alabama and Florida, and critically imperiled in South Carolina and Tennessee.

<i>Trillium stamineum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium stamineum, the twisted trillium, also known as the Blue Ridge wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Its natural habitat is calcareous woodlands.

<i>Trillium sulcatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium sulcatum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Erectum group, a group of species typified by Trillium erectum. The specific name sulcatum means "furrowed, grooved, or sulcate", which describes the tips of the sepals. It is most abundant on the Cumberland Plateau in central Tennessee and eastern Kentucky where it blooms in April and May. The species is commonly known as the southern red trillium or furrowed wakerobin.

<i>Trillium albidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium albidum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is the only trillium characterized by a stalkless white flower. The species is endemic to the western United States, ranging from central California through Oregon to southwestern Washington. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is often confused with a white-flowered form of Trillium chloropetalum. In northern Oregon and southwestern Washington, it has a smaller, less conspicuous flower.

<i>Trillium recurvatum</i> Species of plant

Trillium recurvatum, the prairie trillium, toadshade, or bloody butcher, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to parts of central and eastern United States, where it is found from Iowa south to Texas and east to North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It grows in mesic forests and savannas, often in calcareous soils. It is also known as bloody noses, red trillium, prairie wake-robin, purple trillium, and reflexed trillium, in reference to its reflexed sepals.

<i>Trillium petiolatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium petiolatum, the Idaho trillium, also known as the long-petioled trillium or round-leaved trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the northwestern United States, in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The type specimen for this species was gathered by Meriwether Lewis in 1806 along the Clearwater River during the return trip of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

<i>Trillium angustipetalum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium angustipetalum, with the common name is narrowpetal wakerobin, is a species of Trillium, plants which may be included within the Liliaceae or the newer family Melanthiaceae.

<i>Trillium kurabayashii</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium kurabayashii is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The species is endemic to the western United States, occurring in extreme southwestern Oregon, northwestern California, and the Sierra Nevada of northern California. It was first described by John Daniel Freeman in 1975. The specific epithet kurabayashii honors Masataka Kurabayashi, a Japanese cytologist and population geneticist who first postulated the taxon’s existence. It is commonly known as the giant purple wakerobin, a reference to its conspicuously large, dark purple-red flower, one of the largest of any sessile-flowered trillium.

<i>Trillium maculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium maculatum, the spotted wakerobin or spotted trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, ranging across Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and northern Florida.

Trillium viride, commonly called the wood wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in the central United States, in certain parts of Missouri and Illinois. The specific epithet viride means "youthful" or "fresh-green", an apparent reference to the color of the plant's flower petals. For this reason, it is also called the green trillium, not to be confused with other green-flowered trilliums such as T. viridescens and the green form of T. sessile, both of which are found in Missouri.

Trillium tennesseense, the Tennessee trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found exclusively within two counties in northeastern Tennessee. Due to its limited range, it is designated as a critically imperiled species.

Trillium hibbersonii is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet hibbersonii honors the English Canadian surveyor John Arthur Hibberson (1881–1955) who first collected this plant in 1938 on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Hibberson and his son propagated the trilliums, selling them to buyers in England and other European countries. In 1968, Leonard Wiley coined the Latin name Trillium hibbersonii, a name that has since been used by horticulturists without reservation.

References

  1. Meredith, C.R.; Trillium Working Group 2019 (2020). "Trillium cuneatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T146084767A146089210. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T146084767A146089210.en . Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Trillium cuneatum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Trillium cuneatumRaf.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Trillium cuneatumRaf.". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  5. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trillium cuneatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium cuneatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 March 2023 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. Freeman (1975), p. 29.
  8. Pistrang, Mark. "Little Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum)". United States Forest Service . Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  9. 1 2 Lampley (2021), Ch. 2.
  10. Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 March 2023 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  11. Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium subg. Phyllantherum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 March 2023 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  12. Carman, Jack B. (2001). Wildflowers of Tennessee. Highland Rim Press. p. 372.
  13. 1 2 Freeman (1975), p. 36.
  14. Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-521-86645-3.
  15. Case & Case (1997), p. 172.
  16. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trillium cuneatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  17. "Trillium cuneatumRaf.". Flora of the Southeastern United States (2022 Edition). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  18. Lampley et al. (2022), p. 282.
  19. "Trillium cuneatum f. luteumJ.D.Freeman". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  20. Freeman (1975), pp. 36–37.
  21. "Trillium cuneatum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  22. "Observations of Trillium cuneatum outside its native range". iNaturalist . Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  23. Case & Case (1997), p. 173.
  24. 1 2 Shaver (1960), p. 90.

Bibliography