Trillium cuneatum

Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet Betsy,[3] also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher,[4] is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States but is especially common in a region that extends from southern Kentucky through central Tennessee to northern Alabama.[5] In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April (depending on latitude). It is the largest of the eastern sessile trilliums.[6]

Trillium cuneatum
Trillium cuneatum
Cheekwood Botanical Garden
Nashville, Tennessee

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. cuneatum
Binomial name
Trillium cuneatum
Raf., 1840
US distribution by state of Trillium cuneatum
Synonyms[2]
  • Trillium sessile var. praecox Nutt.
  • Trillium hugeri Small
  • Trillium cuneatum f. luteum J.D.Freeman

Trillium cuneatum prefers to grow in rich soils in mostly upland woods, especially limestone soils but also at less calcareous sites. It is found at elevations of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft)[4] and has three broad, mottled leaves surrounding a sessile, banana-scented flower. The petals are erect and either maroon, bronze, green, or yellow in color.[7]

A few scattered populations of Trillium cuneatum can be found in Michigan and other more northern states,[6][8] presumably due to anthropogenic effects. More recently, there have been dozens of citizen science observations in the eastern United States from Washington, D.C. to New York City.[9]

References
  1. "Trillium cuneatum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. "Trillium cuneatum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium cuneatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 26. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. Freeman, J. D. (1975). "Revision of Trillium subgenus Phyllantherum (Liliaceae)". Brittonia. 27: 1–62. doi:10.2307/2805646.
  6. Pistrang, Mark. "Little Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum)". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. Carman, Jack B. (2001). Wildflowers of Tennessee. Highland Rim Press. p. 372.
  8. "Trillium cuneatum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  9. "Citizen science observations for Trillium cuneatum". iNaturalist. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
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