Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium grandiflorum
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.
Trillium is now usually separated from the Liliaceae into the Trilliaceae or less drastically as part of the Melanthiaceae. What are called “leaves” in Trillium are actually interpreted as bracts by some. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium grandiflorum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-008:
Trillium grandiflorum FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium grandiflorum
COMMON NAME:
Large-flowered Trillium, Great White Trillium, White Wake-robin, Showy Wake-robin
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trgr4_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm070324_005
March Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_t_grandiflorum_s
March
Sepals 3-6cm long, 1.8-2.5cm wide, horizontally spreading, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_992606045448944
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
Craig Myers cam_whitepinktrillium
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The widely flaring, ruffled white petals quickly fade to pink, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Harry Davis hld1549_crw_0735
April NC-TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Petals overlap at the base to form a strongly funnel-shaped flower, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
COMPARE
flowers of white-flowering Trilliums
)
JK Marlow jkm0404i_03
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm0404j_07
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm0504m_28
April Polk County NC
Leaves without stalks, blades widest below middle, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm120426_672b
April Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers above leaves; anthers straight, pale yellow, concealing young ovary, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_303
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_310
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm190413_7325
April Rabun County GA
)
Kevin Adams kcatrilliumgrandiflo_w14
April NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Ron Lance rwl_tgrandiflorum
April Jackson County NC
Flowers resemble trumpets, flaring outward from a tube-like base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Tim Spira tpstgrandiflorum5
April
)
Bill Sharpton gws_largeflwrtrillium
April? NC-TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_grandiflorum_5588
May Mitchell County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_grandiflorum_7760
May NC
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_grandiflorum_7790
May NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium grandiflorum
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium grandiflorum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium grandiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-008:
Trillium grandiflorum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium grandiflorum
1549
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rich coves and mesic slopes, also less typically on ridges over "rich" rock types, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains of GA & NC, uncommon in NC Piedmont (rare in SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
A single terminal whorl of 3 leaves
Leaves sessile to subsessile
FLOWER:
Spring
White
turning pink with age
Pedicel 1.5-10cm long
Flowers above the leaves
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Pale green
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) p024
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p127
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p135
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p124
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p411
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p094
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p169
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p021
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p423
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p377
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p428
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p457
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p016
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".