Trillium sessile

Trillium sessile
In Newton County, Arkansas

Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. sessile
Binomial name
Trillium sessile
Synonyms[3]
Trillium sessile
    • Esdra sessilis (L.) Salisb.
    • Phyllantherum sessile (L.) Nieuwl.
    • Trillium isanthum Raf.
    • Trillium longiflorum Raf.
    • Trillium membranaceum Raf.
    • Trillium rotundifolium Raf.
    • Trillium sessile var. boreale Nutt.
    • Trillium sessile f. viridiflorum Beyer
    • Trillium tinctorium Raf.

Trillium sessile is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet sessile means "attached without a distinct stalk",[4] an apparent reference to its stalkless flower. It is commonly known as toadshade (not to be confused with Trillium recurvatum, which is also known by that name) or toad trillium.[5][6] It is also called sessile trillium or sessile-flowered wake-robin,[2][7] however it is not the only member of the genus with a sessile flower.

Trillium sessile is endemic to the eastern half of the United States. It has the widest range of any species of sessile-flowered trillium. There are two subpopulations geographically separated by a large gap in central Illinois where the species is strangely absent.

Trillium sessile was one of three Trillium species described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is a small perennial, herbaceous plant with three leaves, but unlike other sessile-flowered trilliums, the leaves are often not mottled. It has a single trimerous flower with three reddish-purple petals and six distinctive stamens that aid identification.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference iucnredlist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NatureServe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference POWO:258376-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gledhill 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference USDA-PLANTS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference FNA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britton and Brown 1896 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).