Trillium Ovatum
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''Trillium ovatum'', the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...
of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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 the ...
. It is found in western
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, from southern
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and the tip of southwestern
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
to central
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, east to
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
and western
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. There is an isolated population in northern
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and southern
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. ''T. ovatum'' is the most widespread and abundant trillium in western North America. It is the only
pedicellate In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
-flowered ''
Trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
'' species found within its range. The type specimen for this species was gathered by
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
in 1806 along the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
during the return trip of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
.


Description

The most widespread of the western North American trilliums, ''Trillium ovatum'' varies greatly within its range. Despite this, ''T. ovatum'' closely resembles the eastern ''T. grandiflorum''. Apart from geographic location, the two species are not easily distinguished. ''T. ovatum'' is a
perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...
that spreads by means of underground
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 ...
s. At maturity, each plant has one or two flowering scapes, each in length. 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 ...
ovatum means “egg-shaped,” which refers to the petals, not the leaves. The latter are generally ovate-rhombic, long by wide. The flower sits on a
pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...
in length. The sepals are long and wide, while the petals are long and wide. Typically the flower opens white and becomes pink with age, but in the Smith River Canyon area of northern California and southern
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, the petals become almost barn-red.


Taxonomy

In addition to ''Trillium ovatum'' Pursh, the following infraspecific taxa are accepted by the
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...
: * ''Trillium ovatum'' var. ''oettingeri'' * ''Trillium ovatum'' var. ''ovatum'' The variety ''T. o.'' var. ''oettingeri'' is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Salmon Mountains The Salmon Mountains are a subrange of the Klamath Mountains in Siskiyou County, northwestern California. Geography The Salmon Mountains are a sub-mountain range within the Klamath Mountains System. The Klamath system are of the Pacific Coast ...
of northwestern California and hence Oettinger's trillium is known as the Salmon Mountains wakerobin. Unlike the nominate variety ''T. o.'' var. ''ovatum'', the variety ''oettingeri'' has leaves with short petioles and linear flower petals. ''Trillium ovatum'' f. ''maculosum'' refers to a form with mottled leaves that occurs in
Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...
, California. This is the only reported instance of mottled leaves in a pedicellate ''Trillium''. The names ''Trillium ovatum'' f. ''hibbersonii'' and are synonyms for '' T. hibbersonii'' , a member of the Erectum group. Despite its
provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
, ''T. hibbersonii'' is no longer thought to be related to ''T. ovatum''.


Habitat and ecology

''Trillium ovatum'' is often found growing in coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, in and around alder thickets and shrubs. Along the California coast, it is commonly found under
coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
and mixed evergreen forest. At Lolo Pass, Montana, it grows under spruce and
Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
in ravines along mountain streams. Flowers bloom late February in the southern part of its range, and in March or April elsewhere.
Citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...
observations of flowering plants of this species peak during the first week of April. For comparison, when ''
Trillium grandiflorum ''Trillium grandiflorum'', the white trillium, large-flowered trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin or french: trille blanc, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. A monocotyledonous, herbaceous perennial, the ...
'' is fully open in eastern North America, ''T. ovatum'' is already fading in western North America. Apparently ''T. ovatum'' lacks sufficient winter hardiness to flourish east of the
continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
. The life-cycle stages of ''T. ovatum'' include a cotyledon stage, a one-leaf vegetative stage, a three-leaf vegetative (juvenile) stage, a three-leaf reproductive (flowering) stage, and a three-leaf nonflowering regressive stage. An example of the latter involves a transition from the three-leaf flowering stage to a three-leaf nonflowering regressive stage. Approximately one of every four reproductive plants regresses to a nonflowering state in any given year. Under the right conditions, individuals may undergo extended dormancy, that is, they may cease above-ground growth for one or more years. In western Montana, dormancy was observed in all adult stage classes, with most plants returning to above ground status in a year or two, although some plants exhibited dormancy for 3–5 years.


Bibliography

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References


External links

* * *
''Trillium'' and the Trillium family
* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3024360 ovatum Ephemeral plants Flora of the Western United States Plants described in 1813 Taxa named by Frederick Traugott Pursh Garden plants of North America