Trillium ovatum

Trillium ovatum
Trillium ovatum var. ovatum in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Melanthiaceae
Genus:	Trillium
Species:	T. ovatum
Binomial name
Trillium ovatum Pursh, 1813
Synonyms
Synonymy Trillium obovatum Hook. 1838, illegitimate homonym not Pursh 1813 Trillium californicum Kellogg Trillium crassifolium Piper Trillium ovatum var. stenosepalum R.R.Gates Trillium venosum R.R.Gates Trillium ovatum f. maculosum Case & R.B.Case

Supported by thin white filaments, the yellow anthers are 4–16 mm long.

The flower starts white, but often becomes pink as it matures.

Trillium ovatum, the Pacific trillium, western trillium, western wakerobin, or western white trillium, is a member of the Trilliaceae family, or sometimes included within the Liliaceae or Melanthiaceae. It occurs in parts of the western United States and western Canada, usually in rich forest. In the northern part of its range, which includes southern British Columbia, extreme southwestern Alberta, Washington, Oregon and east to Montana, Wyoming and northern Colorado, it often grows under Douglas-fir. Other trees which frequently shade this trillium include grand fir, western red cedar, and western hemlock; bigleaf maple, red alder and Sitka spruce join in near the coast. Flowering peaks in April

Near California shores, it is common under coast redwood. Associated understory plants include swordfern, vanilla leaf, violets, redwood sorrel and salal.

Trillium ovatum is a perennial herb spreading by means of underground rhizomes. Each plant has 1 or 2 flowering stalks, each up to 50 cm tall. Flowers are white or pink, the colour sometimes becoming darker as they get older. Occasionally, the petals are maroon rather than the typical white or pink.

varieties

• Trillium ovatum var. hibbersonii (T.M.C.Taylor & Szczaw.) G.W.Douglas & Pojar – Vancouver Island in British Columbia
• Trillium ovatum var. oettingeri (Munz & Thorne) Case – northwestern California
• Trillium ovatum var. ovatum – most of species range

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
• Washington Burke Museum, University of Washington
• Trillium ovatum in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
• Trillium and the Trillium family