1. Trillium Sessile L. Sessile-Flowered Wake-Robin

Fig. 1299

Trillium sessile L. Sp. PI. 340. 1753.

Stem 4'-12' tall. Leaves ovate, oval or nearly orbicular, sessile, acute or obtuse and cuspidate at the apex, 1 1/2'-6' long, often blotched; flower sessile, erect; sepals lanceolate, acute or obtuse, spreading, i'-2' long, petals lanceolate, acute or obtuse, somewhat longer than the sepals, erect-spreading, purple or green; anthers 3"-7" long, longer than filament, the connective prolonged beyond the sacs; berry globose, 6-angled, about 1/2' in diameter.

In moist woods and thickets, Pennsylvania to Ohio and Minnesota, south to Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas. Flowers pleasantly odorous. Three-leaved nightshade. April-May.

2. Trillium Viride Beck. Green Wake-Robin

Fig. 1300

Trillium viride Beck, Am. Journ. Sci. 11: 178. 1826.

Perennial by a short corm-like rootstock, light green. Stems solitary, or several together, 4'-15' .tall, rough-pubescent near the top, or glabrous in age; leaves oblong to ovate, 2'-4' long, obtuse or acutish, 3-5-nerved, usually blotched, more or less pubescent on the nerves beneath; flowers sessile; sepals linear or linear-lanceolate, l'-2' long, bright green, acute or obtuse; petals clawed, the blades linear or nearly so, surpassing the sepals, light green or purplish green, the claws sometimes brown or purple; stamens about 1/3 as long as the petals; filaments flattened, 1/4-1/5 shorter than the anthers.

In woods and glades, Kansas to Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Spring.

Trillium viridescens Nutt, a species distinguished from T. viride by its purplish petals and acuminate leaves, occurs in Arkansas and is reported from Kansas.

3. Trillium Recurvatum Beck. Prairie Wake-Robin

Fig. 1301

Trillium recurvatum Beck, Am. Journ. Sci. 11: 178. 1826.

Stem 6-18' tall. Leaves ovate, oval or oblong, 1 1/2'-4' long, acute at the apex, narrowed into petioles 3"-9/' long, sometimes blotched; flower sessile, erect; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, 6"-15" long, reflexed between the petioles; petals spatulate or oblong, nearly erect, clawed, acute or acuminate, equalling the sepals or somewhat longer; anthers 4"-7" long, much longer than the filaments, the connective prolonged beyond the sacs; berry ovoid, 6-winged above, about 9" long.

In woods and thickets, Ohio to Minnesota, Mississippi and Arkansas. April-June.

4. Trillium Nivale Riddell. Early Wake-Robin

Fig. 1302

Trillium nivale Riddell, Syn. Fl. W. States, 93. 1835.

Stem 2'-6' high. Leaves ovate, oval or nearly orbicular, 1'-2' long, obtuse at the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, petioled; petioles, 2"-6" long; flowers peduncled; peduncle 1/2'-l' long, erect, bent, or recurved beneath the leaves; sepals narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, 1/2'-1" long; petals white, oblong or oval, obtuse, longer than the sepals, erect-spreading; anthers about as long as the filaments, the connective not prolonged beyond the sacs; styles slender; berry globose, 3-lobed, about 1/2' in diameter.

In woods and thickets, Pennsylvania to Ohio and Minnesota, south to Kentucky and Nebraska. Showy or Dwarf white wake-robin. March-May.