Trillium recurvatum

Species of plant

Trillium recurvatum

In Little Rock, Arkansas, showing recurved sepals

Conservation status

Secure (NatureServe)[1]

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Monocots
Order:  | Liliales
Family:  | Melanthiaceae
Genus:  | Trillium
Species:  |

T. recurvatum

Binomial name
Trillium recurvatum

L.C.Beck

Synonyms[2]

* Phyllantherum recurvatum (L.C.Beck) Nieuwl.
* Trillium unguiculatum Raf.
* Trillium unguiculatum Nutt.

Trillium recurvatum, the prairie trillium,[3] toadshade,[4][5] or bloody butcher,[6] is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae.[3][6] It is native to parts of central and eastern United States, where it is found from Iowa south to Texas and east to North Carolina and Pennsylvania.[6][7] It grows in mesic forests and savannas, often in calcareous soils.[8][9] It is also known as bloody noses,[3] red trillium,[4] prairie wake-robin,[5] purple trillium,[10] and reflexed trillium,[11] in reference to its reflexed sepals.[11][10]

## Description[edit]

Trillium recurvatum grows up to 40 cm (16 in) tall with three ovate to lanceolate bracts, mottled green, 6 to 18 cm (2 to 7 in) long and 2 to 6.5 cm (1 to 3 in) across, petiolate at maturity.[3][10]

The flower has three brown to maroon petals that are 1.8 to 4.8 cm (1 to 2 in) long and 0.9 to 2 cm (0 to 1 in) across, with the petal tips arching over the stamens.[3][10] The sepals are recurved, pointing downwards when the flower has fully opened. The anthers are also dark purple, up to 16 mm (1 in) long.[12] The stigmas are recurved at the tips.[12] It is distinguished from other sessile-flowered Trillium species, such as Trillium sessile, by its reflexed sepals.[10]

The fruit is green, sometimes streaked with purple or white, with six well-developed ridges.[12] The seeds have an oil-rich structure called an elaiosome, which promotes dispersal by ants and other foraging insects.

* A population in the early stages of flowering, still in bud

* An individual with mature fruit, late in the summer

* Fruits and seeds

* An unusual individual with four leaves

## Conservation[edit]

Trillium recurvatum is common throughout much of its range. It is not considered to be globally threatened, and its status is considered secure.[1] However, it is monitored by conservation agencies in several states at the edge of its range, where it becomes rare. For example, in Wisconsin it is considered rare or uncommon (S3) and therefore a species of special concern.[11] In Michigan, it is considered a state threatened species and is protected by law.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Trillium recurvatum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. ^ a b c d e Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium recurvatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26\. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 April 2020 - via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
4. ^ a b c "Trillium recurvatum Beck" (PDF). Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Retrieved 21 January 2022.Beck&rft_id=https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/botany/Trillium_recurvatum.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Trillium+recurvatum" class="Z3988">
5. ^ a b "Plant Details: Trillium recurvatum". North Carolina Native Plant Society. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
6. ^ a b c USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trillium recurvatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
7. ^ Trillium recurvatum web page from Vanderbilt Bioimages Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
9. ^ "Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum recurvatum)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
10. ^ a b c d e Tenaglia, Dan. "Trillium recurvatum L.C. Beck, Purple Trillium". www.missouriplants.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
11. ^ a b c Reflexed Trillium (Trillium revurvatum), Endangered Resources Program Species Information, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
12. ^ a b c Wilhelm, Gerould; Rericha, Laura (2017). Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Indiana Academy of Sciences.

## External links[edit]

* Stritch, Larry. "Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum)". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
* "Flower-Visiting Insects of Prairie Trillium". Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

Taxon identifiers|

* Wikidata: Q3009702
* APA: 4527
* BOLD: 430786
* CoL: 7CTSY
* EoL: 1083257
* FNA: 242102007
* GBIF: 2742260
* iNaturalist: 126334
* IPNI: 542592-1
* IRMNG: 10197624
* ITIS: 43059
* IUCN: 146087019
* MichiganFlora: 2735
* MoBotPF: 281998
* NatureServe: 2.151986
* NCBI: 82495
* Open Tree of Life: 734229
* Plant List: kew-290630
* PLANTS: TRRE5
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:542592-1
* Tropicos: 18401377
* WisFlora: 5280
* WFO: wfo-0000750906

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