Trillium luteum
| Trillium luteum | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Melanthiaceae |
| Genus: | Trillium |
| Species: | T. luteum
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| Binomial name | |
| Trillium luteum | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Trillium luteum
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Trillium luteum, the yellow trillium[3][4] or yellow wakerobin,[5] is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae with native populations in the Great Smoky Mountains of the United States and surrounding areas.[3]
Description
Growing to 40 cm (16 in) tall by 30 cm (12 in) wide, it is a woodland herbaceous perennial flowering in spring, with lemon yellow scented blooms. The large stalkless triple leaves often have grey-green marbling on the surface. It flowers in April-May beneath the bare branches of deciduous trees.[6] After flowering and setting seed it goes dormant in summer, before appearing again in late winter.
Taxonomy
In 1813, Muhlenberg described the yellow-petaled variety Trillium sessile var. luteum,[7] but the taxon was given specific rank (Trillium luteum) by Harbison in 1901. The latter is distinguished from T. sessile by its larger size, the mottling of its leaves, shorter filaments, the color of its petals, and the character of its stigmas.[8] The specific epithet luteum, which means "yellow",[9] refers to the color of its petals.[10]
Distribution
Trillium luteum is endemic to the southeastern United States. It is native to Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee.[3][11] It is especially abundant around Gatlinburg, Tennessee.[10] T. luteum has been widely introduced elsewhere, with known populations in Maryland, Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.[12] (A few disjunct populations of yellow-flowered trilliums in central Alabama have been identified as T. luteum but botanists disagree on this point.[13]) There are hundreds of citizen science observations of T. luteum outside of its natural range, especially in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Virginia.[14]
The ranges of T. luteum and T. cuneatum generally do not overlap except in Casey County in southern Kentucky, in southeastern Tennessee, and along the Little Tennessee River on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. Hybrids will be found along these points of contact, which makes identification difficult.[15][16]
Cultivation
Though hardy down to −15 °C (5 °F), this plant requires a sheltered position with rich, moist leafmould in a shaded, deciduous woodland setting which mimics its native habitat in North American broadleaf forests. It must be left undisturbed to grow into a large colony. It requires some experience to grow successfully, but nevertheless has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[17][18]
Bibliography
- Case, Frederick W.; Case, Roberta B. (1997). Trilliums. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 204–208. ISBN 978-0-88192-374-2.
- Freeman, J. D. (1975). "Revision of Trillium subgenus Phyllantherum (Liliaceae)". Brittonia. 27 (1): 1–62. doi:10.2307/2805646. JSTOR 2805646. S2CID 20824379.
References
- ^ "Trillium luteum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Trillium luteum L.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium luteum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Pistrang, Mark. "Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum)". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trillium luteum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ "Trillium sessile var. luteum Muhl.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Harbison, T. G. (1901). "New or little known species of Trillium". Biltmore Botanical Studies. 1 (1): 21–22. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
- ^ a b Case & Case (1997), p. 204.
- ^ Freeman (1975), p. 39.
- ^ "Trillium luteum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ Lampley, Jayne A. (2021). A systematic and biogeographic study of Trillium (Melanthiaceae) (PhD). University of Tennessee. p. 61. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Observations of Trillium luteum". iNaturalist. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Case & Case (1997), p. 207–208.
- ^ Freeman (1975), p. 37.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Trillium luteum". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. November 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
External links
- Citizen science observations for Trillium luteum at iNaturalist
- Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) occurrence data and maps for Trillium luteum
- Adams, Alan B. (1975). A Study of Trillium cuneatum and T. luteum (MS). University of Tennessee. Retrieved 23 February 2022.