Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium luteum
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.
Learn more about Trillium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium luteum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-001b:
Trillium cuneatum var. luteum FAMILY Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Trillium viride var. luteum
INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium sessile
COMMON NAME:
Yellow Trillium, Yellow Toadshade, Lemon-scented Trillium, Wax Trillium
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1545_a
April
Leaves sometimes only weakly mottled, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
Craig Myers cam_groupoftrilliums
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Flower lemon-scented, petals more or less erect & > 2x long as stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Harry Davis hld1545_crw_0782
April
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Ovary and stamens greenish-white during flowering, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
stamen color in yellow-flowering Trilliums
)
JK Marlow jkm080420_008
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm080420_026
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_316
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Pollen sacs facing inward, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm140418_319
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_662
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160426_565
April Polk County NC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm170415_696
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_trillium_luteum_03029
April NC
Petals erect, somewhat overlapping concealing inner parts, not clawed, per Trilliums of Georgia (Patrick, 2007).
COMPARE
petal shape in yellow-flowering Trilliums
)
Keith Bradley kab_trillium_luteum_4687
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_trillium_luteum_6
April
)
JK Marlow jkm160727_416
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm160727_416b
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Trillium luteum
FAMILY
Trilliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trillium luteum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia (Patrick, 2007)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Trillium luteum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-03-001b:
Trillium cuneatum var. luteum
FAMILY
Liliaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Trillium viride var. luteum
INCLUDED WITHIN (MISAPPLIED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trillium sessile
1545
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist coves over mafic or calcareous rocks, locally abundant in the vicinity of the Great Smokies, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Locally abundant in the vicinity of the Great Smokies, uncommon to rare elsewhere. Nearly endemic to the Southern Appalachians
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
Leaves sessile
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellow
Flowers are sessile.
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Green to greenish-white, occasionally with dark streaks
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p182
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p024
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p236
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p167
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p018
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p424
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p374
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p429
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p458
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p017
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