Trillium erectum L.

  • Authority

    Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

  • Family

    Melanthiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Trillium erectum L.

  • Description

    Species Description - Stem 2–4 dm; lvs usually broadly rhombic, about as wide as long, narrowed with nearly straight margins from near the middle to the acute base; peduncle erect to lateral, mostly 3–8 cm, up to ca twice as long as the sep, the ± foetid fls held ± above the lvs; sep lanceolate to lance-ovate or seldom ovate, flat or weakly sulcate-tipped, ca equaling or somewhat shorter than the pet; pet normally maroon (white, yellow, or green), lanceolate to lance-ovate or seldom ovate, 2.5–6 cm, acute, widely spreading from the base, exposing the dark ovary; stamens shorter to somewhat longer than the ovary, the filaments mostly a fourth to half as long as the anthers; fr dark red, ovoid-globose, with 6 wing-ribs; 2n=10. Moist woods; Que. and Ont. to Md. and O. and reputedly ne. Ill., s. to the mts. of N.C., Ga., and Tenn. Apr., May.

  • Common Names

    purple trillium, stinking Benjamin