Trillium pusillum

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]

Trillium pusillum
Trillium pusillum, Carroll County, Arkansas

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

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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. 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. 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.
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