Trillium pusillum

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Trillium pusillum
Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum.jpg
Trillium pusillum, Carroll County, Arkansas

Vulnerable (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. pusillum
Binomial name
Trillium pusillum
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy

Trillium pusillum is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae known by the common names dwarf trillium, least trillium and dwarf wakerobin.[1][3][4][5] It is native to the southeastern and south-central United States from Oklahoma to Maryland.[6][7]

Description[]

Trillium pusillum is a perennial herbaceous plant with a thin, branching, horizontal rhizome. It produces one or two slender scapes up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) tall. They increase in size after flowering. The three bracts are dark green, sometimes with a red tinge when new. The flower has three green to red-tinged sepals up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long and three wavy-edged petals that open white but quickly age pink. The six stamens are tipped with lavender or yellow anthers each up to a centimeter long. The stigmas have long, narrow, spreading lobes. The pulpy fruit is 1–1.5 centimetres (0.4–0.6 in) long.[4]

Ecology[]

Trillium pusillum flowers from March to early May. It can be found in several habitat types, including savannas, swamps, bogs, forests and woods, and fields. It grows on acidic soils.[1] In Missouri, it is commonly pollinated by the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), and the seeds are dispersed by ants and harvestmen.[8]

Taxonomy[]

In addition to Trillium pusillum Michx., the following names are widely accepted:[4]

  • Trillium pusillum var. pusillum[9]
  • Trillium pusillum var. virginianum Fernald[10]

The flowers of var. virginianum are usually slightly smaller than those of var. pusillum. Also, the flower of var. pusillum sits on a pedicel 0.5 to 2 cm (0.20 to 0.79 in) in length[11] whereas the flower of var. virginianum is sessile or subsessile. If a pedicel is present in the latter variety, it is less than 0.3 cm (0.12 in) in length.[12]

Many other names are in use, including:

  • Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum (E.J.Palmer & Steyerm.) Steyerm.
  • Trillium pusillum var. texanum (Buckley) Reveal & C.R.Broome

The name Trillium texanum Buckley, used interchangeably with Trillium pusillum var. texanum, is regarded by some as a synonym for Trillium pusillum var. pusillum.[13]

Bibliography[]

  • Case, Frederick W.; Case, Roberta B. (1997). Trilliums. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-374-2.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Trillium pusillum. NatureServe. 2013.
  2. ^ "Trillium". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. ^ Case & Case (1997), p. 123.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium pusillum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. ^ "Trillium pusillum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Trillium pusillum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Trillium pusillum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  8. ^ Andre, Cynthia S.; Wait, D. Alexander; Anderson, Wendy B. (2005). "Ecology of three populations of the rare woodland perennial, Trillium pusillum Michaux (Liliaceae), in southwestern Missouri" (PDF). Missouriensis. 26: 7–21. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Trillium pusillum var. pusillum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  10. ^ "Trillium pusillum var. virginianum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  11. ^ Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium pusillum var. pusillum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  12. ^ Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium pusillum var. virginianum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  13. ^ "Trillium texanum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 7 October 2019.

External links[]

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