''Trillium pusillum'' is a
species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...
in the family
Melanthiaceae known by the common names dwarf trillium, least trillium and dwarf wakerobin.
It is native to the southeastern and south-central
United States from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
.
Description
''Trillium pusillum'' is a
perennial herbaceous plant with a thin, branching, horizontal
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
. It produces one or two slender
scapes
Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatta ...
up to tall. They increase in size after flowering. The three
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, ...
s are dark green, sometimes with a red tinge when new. The flower has three green to red-tinged
sepals up to long and three wavy-edged
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s that open white but quickly age pink. The six
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are tipped with lavender or yellow anthers each up to a centimeter long. The
stigmas have long, narrow, spreading lobes. The pulpy fruit is long.
Ecology
''Trillium pusillum'' flowers from March to early May. It can be found in several habitat types, including
savannas,
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s,
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s, forests and woods, and fields. It grows on acidic soils.
[ In Missouri, it is commonly pollinated by the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera''), and the seeds are dispersed by ants and harvestmen.]
Taxonomy
In addition to ''Trillium pusillum'' Michx., the following names are widely accepted:
* ''Trillium pusillum'' var. ''pusillum''
* ''Trillium pusillum'' var. ''virginianum'' Fernald
The flowers of var. ''virginianum'' are usually slightly smaller than those of var. ''pusillum''. Also, the flower of var. ''pusillum'' sits on a pedicel in length
Bibliography
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References
External links
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Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) occurrence data and maps for ''Trillium pusillum ozarkanum''
Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) occurrence data and maps for ''Trillium pusillum pusillum''
Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) occurrence data and maps for ''Trillium pusillum virginianum''
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{{Authority control
pusillum
Flora of the Southeastern United States
Flora of the United States
Flora of the Appalachian Mountains
Plants described in 1803
Taxa named by André Michaux