Trillium catesbaei
Author: Casey Sanders
E-mail Address: cjsand@arches.uga.edu
Common Names: (Brickell and Zuk, 1996)
|
|
Higher Taxa: (Dodson, 1998) Class: Liliopsida Subclass: Liliidae Order: Liliales Family: Liliaceae (Trilliaceae) Genus: Trillium Species: T. catesbaei |
Photo courtesy of the University of Georgia Herbarium
Identification: The species was first identified by Stephen Elliiot, who named it after naturalist Mark Catesby (1682-1749). Catesby's herbarium material is at Oxford and the British Museum, but no information about Elliot's material or holotype could be found (Huxley, 1992).
Radford, Ahles and Bell describe T. catesbaei in the Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas by the following, "Rhizome 2-4 cm long, 10-15 mm in diameter. Stems green to purple, 1.5-4 dm tall. Leaves not mottled, ovate to widely elliptic, 6-15 cm long including petiole, 4-10 cm wide, acute to acuminate; petioles 3-12 mm long. Pedicels 1-6 cm long ascending to divergent, frequently hiding the flower below the leaves. Sepals 2.5-4 cm long, 5-7 mm wide, spreading and arching, usually falcate. Petals pink or white, elliptic, 3.5-5.5 cm long, 1.5-2 (3) cm wide at base and forming a short tube, margins often undulate. Stamens 1.6-2.6 cm long, filaments equaling or slightly longer than the anthers, white; anthers yellow, anther connective slightly shorter than the anther sacs; stigmas white, erect, divergent, or circinately curled under at the apex, ovary white, sharply to obscurely angled. Berry ovoid, 1.2-1.4 cm long " (Radford et al., 1964).
It is easy to distinguish T. catesbaei from T. grandiflorum, because T. catesbaei has a peduncle (main flower stalk supporting the flower) that is recurved or divergent (inclined away from each other), and T. grandiflorum has an erect peduncle (Radford et al., 1964).
Geography: The species is native to North America and is common in the woods of "sw Fa into e Ala, se Tenn, and the Pied. of N.C." (Duncan and Foote, 1975).
Table 1. North American Distribution of T. catesbaei
|
Area |
Status |
Reference |
|
North America: Continental United States and Canada |
Yes |
|
|
Eastern North America: United States east of Mississippi; Ontario and eastern Canada |
Yes |
|
|
Southeastern United States: AL AT DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV |
Yes |
|
|
Southern Appalachian States:AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV |
Yes |
|
|
Coastal Plain |
Yes |
|
|
Piedmont |
Yes |
|
|
Blue Ridge Mountains |
yes |
|
|
Great Smoky Mtns National Park |
yes |
|
|
Ridge and Valley |
yes |
|
|
Cumberland Plateau |
yes |
|
|
Central Arch |
yes |
|
|
Georgia |
yes |
|
|
Clarke County, Georgia |
yes |
|
|
Sams Farm |
The species was not seen at Sams farm, these are my guesses |
|
|
Old field |
no |
The field has not been fallow long enough (needs 6 yrs) |
|
Wetland |
no |
Species generally likes well drained soil |
|
Woods |
possibly |
Specimens have been found out side of Athens |
|
1-Hectare Plot |
possibly |
Same as above |
Natural History: T. catesbaei blooms March to June, and though some flowers start out pink, most turn from white to pink with age (Duncan and Foote, 1975). The species prefers oak and oak-pine woods, but will extend into rich woods (Adams et al., 1996).
How to Encounter: In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the species can be seen along Cades Cove Nature Trail, Abrams Falls Trail, and School-House Gap Trail (Hutson, 1995). Though I did not observe T. catesbaei on Sams Farm (located off of highway 78 north of Athens, Ga), it is possible that the species can be found there. I visited the property in July, having missed the blooming season, but W.H. Duncan photographed this specimen in another deciduous wood near Athens, leading me to believe the species can be found in the area. Photo courtesy of the UGA Herbarium.
