Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium 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.
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).
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium erectum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium erectum
INCLUDED WITHIN Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium erectum
INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium erectum var. album
INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium erectum var. erectum
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium erectum
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.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trer3_001_lvd
A limited study indicated that vars. album & erectum are genetically distinct. More study needed, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_163
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_165
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
A trillium with erect flower stalk and narrow petals is likely T. erectum, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm170413_569
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Stamens & ovary (cup) totally exposed. Sepals & petals (saucer) spreading, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
Keith Bradley kab_trillium_erectum_2140
April Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Betsy George bmg_050122_7406
May Rabun County GA
Black Rock Mountain State Park
Leaves uniformly green, about as wide as long, and stalkless, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
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 jkm0405k_30
May Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
All Trillium erectum have a dark ovary, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
COMPARE
flowers of white-flowering Trilliums
)
JK Marlow jkm0505p_07
May Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_188
May Haywood-Jackson Counties NC
)
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.
)
Gill Newberry gn081223_0858
August NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Material from Southern Appalachians is somewhat smaller than northern specimens, ...
)
Gill Newberry gn081223_0861
August NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
...has more spreading petals, produces shiny black fruit, and has more petal color variation, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium erectum
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium erectum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium erectum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium erectum
INCLUDING
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium erectum var. album
INCLUDING
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium erectum var. erectum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium erectum
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
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
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, white
or various intermediate shades
Pedicel 1-10+cm long
Flowers above the leaves
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Dark maroon, shiny black
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, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p159
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p160
- 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
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".