Trillium grandiflorum -Wake Robin

Author: Casey Sanders

E-mail address: cjsand@arches.uga.edu

Common Names: (Brickell and Zuk, 1996)

Less commonly known as Snow Trillium, mountaineers called it thus because it is the first Trillium to bloom, and therefore would be caught in a late snowfall (Hutson et al. 1995).

Slide courtesy of the UGA Herbarium

Higher Taxa: (Dodson, 1998)

Class: Liliopsida

Subclass: Liliidae

Order: Liliales

Family: Liliaceae (Trilliaceae)

Genus: Trillium

Species: T. grandiflorum

Identification: "Trillium rhomboideum variety grandiflorum was given by french botanist Andre Michaux in 1803. In 1805, Richard Salisbury (1761-1829) established the now authoritative T. grandiflorum. The specific name, very appropriately means large-flowered " (Wiley, 1968). Holotype information could not be found.

Radford, Ahles and Bell describe the species in the Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas by the following, "rhizome 2-4 cm long, 10-30 mm in diameter. Stems green, rarely purple, 2-5 dm tall. Leaves not mottled, ovate, rhombic-ovate to lance-ovate, 6-16 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, acminate, sessile or petioles to 12 mm long. Pedicels 1.5-10 cm long, erect, usually holding the flower well above the foliaage. Sepals 3-6 cm long, 1.8-2.5 cm wide, horizontally spreading. Petals white, usually change to pink with age, elliptic, elliptic-ovate, to oblanceolate, 4-8 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, imbricate at base and forming a short tube, margins often undulate. Stamins 1.5-2.5 cm long, filaments white, 1/2-1x as long as the yellow anthers, anther connective slightly shorter than the anther sacs; stigmas white, erect-ascending; ovary white, 3 angled with 2 crests on ribs along each angle. Berry ovoid, 1.2-1.5 cm long" (Radford et al., 1964).

To distinguish T. grandiflorum from T.erectum , which is also white and erect, look for T. grandiflorum's yellow center, for T. erectum has a dark or occasionally white center (Campbell et al., 1964).

Geography: T. grandiflorum is a native species of North America and is common in rich woods from "nw SC into n GA, e Tenn, e Minn, s Que and Me" (Duncan and Foote, 1975).

Table 1. North American Distribution of T. grandiflorum

Area

Status

References

North America: Continental United States and Canada

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Eastern North America: United States east of Mississippi, Ontario and eastern Canada

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Southeastern United States: AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Southern Appalachian States: AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Coastal Plain

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Piedmont

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Blue Ridge Mountains

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Great Smoky Mtns National Park

yes

Hutson et al., 1995

Ridge and Valley

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Cumberland Plateau

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Central Arch

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Georgia

yes

Duncan and Foote, 1975

Clarke County, Georgia

rare

 

Sams Farm

 

 

Old field

no

Field has not been fallow long enough for the species to propagate

Wetland

no

Species generally prefers well drained soil

Woods

Probably not

Species generally likes higher elevations

1-Hectare Plot

Probably not

Same as above

Natural History: T. grandiflorum blooms April to May with white flowers which turn pink with age. It occurs in a natural association with Veratrum viride (Indian Poke) and Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon fern) (Huxley,1992). The roots of the species were once made into a tea and given to mothers after the birth of their children giving T. grandiflorum the obscure name of birthroot (Martin, 1989).

How to encounter: Of the 10 or so species of Trillium in the Smokies, T. grandiflorum may be the most abundant. Around the Chimneys Campground there can be found "considerable quantities" (Campbell,1964). The species is particularly common in the rich woods of the Smokies and the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The largest colony in the country can be found near the northern end of Shenandoah National Park in the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, where and estimated 18 million plants thrive (Adams et al., 1996). They prefer to inhabit slopes 1,000-3,500 ft elevation (Hutson,1995).

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