Trillium viride

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Trillium viride
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. viride
Binomial name
Trillium viride

Trillium viride, commonly called the wood wakerobin, [1] 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. [2] [3] The specific epithet viride means "youthful" or "fresh-green", [4] 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.

Contents

Description

Trillium viride was first described by Lewis Caleb Beck in 1826. [5] It is a perennial herb up to 35 cm tall. Flowers are sometimes entirely green, sometimes entirely purple, sometimes 2-tone with green and purple streaks or bands. The plant grows in richly wooded areas, often on steep hillsides. [6]

Similar species

Since T. viride and T. viridescens are morphologically similar, they are often confused. The following table compares the two species character by character: [7] [8]

T. virideT. viridescens
LeavesLeaves narrowly to broadly elliptic; apex blunt to rounded-acuteLeaves ovate-elliptic to broadly so; apex acuminate
FlowersPetals green or yellowish-green (rarely all purple) above a weak purplish claw; odor of rotten fruitPetals green or yellowish-green (rarely all purple) above a distinct purplish claw; odor musty
Floral organsCarpels two-thirds the height of the stamens; anthers introrse/latrorse; stigmas rarely extending between stamensCarpels half the height of the stamens; anthers latrorse; stigmas usually extending between the stamens
FruitsFruit ovoid, angled, green-whiteFruit ovoid, angled, dark purplish-green or green

Most importantly, T. viride exhibits one unique feature among all trilliums: the entire upper surface of each leaf is covered with numerous stomata , seen to the naked eye as tiny white dots. In comparison, T. viridescens has at most a few stomata near the leaf tip only.

T. viride has numerous other look-alikes. Of particular importance is T. sessile, which may have yellow-green petals. The two are readily distinguished by examining their respective floral dimensions. The stamens of T. sessile are more than half the length of its petals whereas the stamens of T. viride are less than half the length of its petals.

Distribution

Trillium viride occurs within a relatively small region along the Missouri River in east-central Missouri, and along both sides of the Mississippi River in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois. It prefers rich woods, bluffs, and rocky hillsides.

T. viride is known to occur in the following counties in Missouri and Illinois: [2] [3] [9]

In the above lists, boldface indicate those counties where both T. viride and T. viridescens are known to occur.

Bibliography

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 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>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 with native populations in the Great Smoky Mountains of the United States and surrounding areas.

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

Trillium rugelii, also known as the southern nodding trillium or illscented wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to parts of the southeastern United States. It is found in the Great Smoky Mountains, Fernbank Forest, Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve, and other places of the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountains in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. It prefers to grow near streams in humus-rich soil under the shade of deciduous trees.

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

Trillium discolor, the mottled wakerobin, pale yellow trillium, or small yellow toadshade, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to areas of the Savannah River drainage system of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina such as Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve and Lake Keowee. It is found along moist stream banks in upland woods, on acidic to basic soils.

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

Trillium viridescens, also known as the Ozark trillium or tapertip wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana. It usually grows in rich deciduous forests and mountain ranges where the soil is clayey and calcareous.

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

Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet betsy, also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. 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. In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April. It is the largest of the eastern sessile-flowered trilliums.

<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 cernuum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium cernuum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet cernuum means "drooping, curving forwards, facing downwards", a distinctive habit of its flower. It is commonly called nodding trillium or nodding wakerobin since the flower is invariably found nodding beneath the leaves. It is sometimes referred to as the northern nodding trillium to distinguish from Trillium rugelii, a similar nodding species native to the southern Appalachian Mountains. It is also called the whip-poor-will flower since presumably its bloom coincides with the spring arrival of the migrating bird with the same name.

<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 pusillum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium pusillum is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae known by the common names dwarf trillium, least trillium and dwarf wakerobin. It is native to the southeastern and south-central United States from Oklahoma to Maryland.

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

Trillium foetidissimum, also known as the Mississippi River wakerobin, stinking trillium, or fetid trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found along the Louisiana–Mississippi border in a variety of habitats.

<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 found only in the eastern United States.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trillium viride". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Trillium virideL.C.Beck". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Trillium viride". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  4. Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 402. ISBN   978-0-521-86645-3.
  5. Beck, Lewis Caleb (1826). "Trillium viride". American Journal of Science and Arts. 11 (1): 178. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  6. Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium viride". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. Freeman (1975), p. 45.
  8. Case & Case (1997), p. 81.
  9. "Trillium viridescens". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.