''Trillium viride'', commonly called the wood wakerobin, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals 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 Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to ...

. It is found in the central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, in certain parts of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''viride'' means "youthful" or "fresh-green", an apparent reference to the color of the plant's flower

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s. For this reason, it is also called the green trillium, not to be confused with other green-flowered trilliums such as T. viridescens and the green form of T. sessile, both of which are found in Missouri.

Description

''Trillium viride'' was first described by

Lewis Caleb Beck Lewis Caleb Beck (4 October 1798 Schenectady – 20 April 1853 Albany, New York) was an American physician, botanist, chemist, and mineralogist. Biography He graduated from Union College in 1815 with a Master of Arts. He then studied medicine, ...

in 1826. It is a perennial herb up to 35 cm tall. Flowers are sometimes entirely green, sometimes entirely purple, sometimes 2-tone with green and purple streaks or bands. The plant grows in richly wooded areas, often on steep hillsides.

Similar species

Since ''T. viride'' and ''T. viridescens'' are morphologically similar, they are often confused. The following table compares the two species character by character: Most importantly, ''T. viride'' exhibits one unique feature among all trilliums: ''the entire upper surface of each leaf is covered with numerous

stoma In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bo ...

ta'', seen to the naked eye as tiny white dots. In comparison, ''T. viridescens'' has at most a few stomata near the leaf tip only. ''T. viride'' has numerous other look-alikes. Of particular importance is ''T. sessile'', which may have yellow-green petals. The two are readily distinguished by examining their respective floral dimensions. The stamens of ''T. sessile'' are more than half the length of its petals whereas the stamens of ''T. viride'' are less than half the length of its petals.

Distribution

''Trillium viride'' occurs within a relatively small region along the Missouri River in east-central

, and along both sides of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

in eastern Missouri and southwestern

. It prefers rich woods, bluffs, and rocky hillsides. ''T. viride'' is known to occur in the following counties in Missouri and Illinois: * ''Missouri'': Audrain, Barry, Benton, Bollinger, Boone, Butler, Callaway, Carter, Crawford, Franklin, Iron, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Moniteau, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Ralls, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Saint Genevieve, Saint Louis, Saint Louis City, Taney, Warren, Washington, Wayne * ''Illinois'': Adams, Franklin, Jackson, Macoupin, Perry, Pike, Union, Williamson In the above lists, boldface indicate those counties where both ''T. viride'' and ''T. viridescens'' are known to occur.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

*
''Trillium'' photo gallery, Dr. John D. Freeman's pictures
* * * viride Endemic flora of the United States Flora of Illinois Flora of Missouri Plants described in 1826 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Liliales-stub