Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium catesbyi
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Trillium.
You may enjoy Trillium in the South by Will Stuart.
Read about Catesby's Trillium and Jones Gap Trillium in Jim Fowler's blog: 4-18-13 and 4-6-19.
Learn more about Catesby's Trillium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Trillium is now usually separated from the Liliaceae into the Trilliaceae or less drastically as part of the Melanthiaceae. What are called “leaves” in Trillium are actually interpreted as bracts by some. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium catesbaei
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-007:
Trillium catesbaei FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium catesbaei
COMMON NAME:
Catesby's Trillium, Rosy Wake-robin, Bashful Trillium, Rose Trillium
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm120326_966
March McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Leaves with small stalks, the blades broadest near the middle, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
Harry Davis hld1542_crw_6013
April Pickens County SC
Roadside
Anthers irregularly twisted outward; pollen egg-yolk yellow, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0404s_24
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Pedicel declined below the leaves (rarely erect), per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0404s_26
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Petals strongly reflexed above the tube; anthers curved outward, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504g_36
April Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Some say that the "Jones Gap Trillium" is an erect form of Trillium catesbei.
)
JK Marlow jkm0504h_28
April Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0504k_13
April Henderson County NC
Has tendency to nod, but not always, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504l_31
April Henderson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm190416_7440
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200411_3747
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200425_4329
April Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Rhizome horizontal, 2-4cm long, 10-15mm in diameter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm220419_7038
April Pickens County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_catesbaei_5334
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_catesbaei_5348
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1542_a
April?
Flowers with wavy-margined, recurved petals and bright yellow anthers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm080507_029
May Greenville County SC
What do you call a four-leaf four-petaled trillium?
)
JK Marlow jkm100514_054
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Ovary white, sharply to obscurely angled, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120512_717
May Greenville County SC
Leaves taper at the base to a short stalk, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_trillium_catesbaei
May
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_trillium_catesbaei_22
May
Sepals are falcate (strongly arched) and often purplish, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_trillium_catesbaei_24
May
)
Steve Marlow snm140519_087b
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Anthers somewhat twisted, curved outward, stigmas joined into a short style, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
COMPARE
flowers of white-flowering Trilliums
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium catesbyi
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium catesbaei
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium catesbaei
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-007:
Trillium catesbaei
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium catesbaei
1542
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Bottomland forests, mesic slopes, cove forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Piedmont, uncommon in Mountains, rare in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
A single terminal whorl of 3 leaves
Petioles 3-12mm long
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White to pink
turning darker pink with age
Pedicel 1-6cm long
Flowers below the leaves (rarely above)
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
White to greenish-white
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p183
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p058
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p152
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p169
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p160
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p411
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p349
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p169
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p021
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p421
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p376
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p425
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p455
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p016
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