Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Trillium erectum var. erectum
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Trillium.
You may enjoy Trillium in the South by Will Stuart.
Learn more about Trillium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium erectum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-006a:
Trillium erectum var. erectum FAMILY Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium erectum
COMMON NAME:
Red Trillium, Purple Trillium, Stinking Willie, Stinking Benjamin
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trer3_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm060429_163
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Petals lanceolate to narrowly ovate or elliptic, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_165
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Petals maroon, yellow, green, or various intermediate shades, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
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Keith Bradley kab_trillium_erectum_2140
April Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
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Betsy George bmg_050122_7406
May Rabun County GA
Black Rock Mountain State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0405h_03
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Petals spreading from base in the same plane as the sepals, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0505o_33
May Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
A trillium with erect flower stalk and narrow petals is likely T. erectum, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm0505p_07
May Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves uniformly green, about as wide as long, and stalkless, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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JK Marlow jkm060508_158
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Sepals 0.5-0.8x as long as the pedicel, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_186
May Haywood-Jackson Counties NC
Stamens about as long as pistil or shorter, visible from side view, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
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JK Marlow jkm160503_188
May Haywood-Jackson Counties NC
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_t_erectum_5_06_07_3_s
May Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
Petals rarely more than 2x as broad as the sepals, per Weakley's Flora.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Trillium erectum var. erectum
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium erectum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-006a:
Trillium erectum var. erectum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium erectum
1547
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Wooded slopes, usually at middle to high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
A single terminal whorl of 3 leaves
Leaves sessile
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Maroon, yellow, green,
or various intermediate shades
Pedicel 1-10+cm long
Flowers above the leaves
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
FRUIT:
Summer
Purple/Red
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p183
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p074?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p159
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p124
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p349
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p169
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p020
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p423
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p376
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p427
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p457
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p016