drooping trillium

drooping trillium

Trillium flexipes

   
Family

Liliaceae (Lily)

Nativity

Native

Status

 

Habitat

Wet to moderate moisture. Woods.

Flowering

April to May

Flower Color

Creamy white

Height

8 to 16


Identification

This is a 8 to 16 tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on 1 to several scapes from a single, short, stout rhizome.

There is no central stem. What appears to be the central stem is actually a slender, hairless scape.

There are no above-ground leaves. There is a whorl of 3 leaf-like bracts at the top of the scape. The bracts are broad, diamond-shaped or egg-shaped to almost circular, 2¾ to 10 long, and 2¾ to 10 wide, and stalkless or nearly stalkless. They taper gradually to a narrow point at the base, and taper gradually to a sharp point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. They are bright green and do not have red tones.

The inflorescence is a solitary flower hanging on a stalk above or below the bracts. The flower stalk is 1½ to 4¾ long, straight, and stiff. It declines to about 90° or more.

The flowers are about 1½ wide. There are 3 sepals, 3 petals, and 6 stamens. The sepals are green, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, and as long or slightly shorter than the petals. The petals are creamy white, thin, and oblong lance-shaped. They are usually flat or bent backward in the upper half. The veins on the upper side of the petals are conspicuous, appearing engraved. The filaments are white and less than ½ the length of the anthers. The anthers are creamy white or yellow, 3 16 to ¾ long. There is no floral scent.

The fruit is a rosy-red to purplish, fleshy, juicy berry. It is ½ to 1 in diameter, egg-shaped, pyramidal at the top, strongly angled, and contains many seeds.


Similar
Species

Nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum) petals are strongly bent backward from just above the base, with more than ½ of their length extending behind plane of the sepal bases. They are not conspicuously veined. The anthers are pale lavender-pink or lavender-gray, 1 16 to ¼ long. The filaments are about as long as the anthers.


Range

Southeast quarter of the state; also Stearns County and Clay County.

   
 
Sightings

Carley State Park

Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA

Rice Lake State Park

Whitewater State Park

Wood-Rill SNA


Comments

 


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  drooping trillium   drooping trillium   drooping trillium    
               

Synonyms

Trillium declinatum

Trillium erectum var. blandum

Trillium erectum var. declinatum

Trillium gleasonii

   

Common
Names

bent trillium

declined trillium

drooping trillium

nodding wakerobin

nodding wake-robin

               

 

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