Biorepository Data Portal

Rhizomes short, praemorse. Scapes usually 1, 6-gonal in cross section, 0.3-0.5 dm at onset of anthesis, expanding to 0.45-0.8 dm, slender, glabrous. Bracts distinctly petiolate; blade bluish green, elliptic-ovate to ovate, 1.5-4.5 cm × 0.7-34 mm, base abruptly rounded to petiole, apex round-obtuse. Flower erect, fragrance sweet; sepals spreading, flat, bluish green, lanceolate, 10-32 × 2-7 mm, shorter than petals, margins entire, apex obtuse; petals very showy, recurved to erect-spreading, white, veins not engraved on adaxial surface, ovate-elliptic to oblong, 1.5-3.5+ × 0.8-1.5 cm, thin- to firm-textured, margins entire to slightly wavy, apex obtuse-acuminate; stamens straight, 5-18 mm; filaments white, slightly shorter than anthers, slender; anthers straight, pale yellow, 2.5-11 mm, thin, dehiscence introrse; ovary greenish white, ± globular, obtusely 3-angled; style with tips spreading, elongate, 0.5-1.5 mm, slender; stigmas prominent, recurved or curled, connate basally, white, linear, threadlike, 4-12+ mm; pedicel erect in anthesis, rapidly recurving below leaves after pollination, 5-20 cm. Fruits greenish white, odorless, globose-ovate, 0.6-1 × 0.5-0.8 cm, pulpy, not juicy. 2n = 10. Flowering spring (early Mar--early Apr). Forested, limestone-derived soils, alkaline glacial drift or loess, creeping soils at head of ledges, talus of cliff bases, crevices in limestone cliffs, gravelly deposits on higher floodplain riverbanks; 100--300 m; Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., Md., Mich., Minn., Mo., Nebr., Ohio, Pa., S.Dak., W.Va., Wis. Trillium nivale occurs primarily at the southern edge of Pleistocene glaciation and shuns humus, leaf deposits, and much plant competition.

Perennial herb with a short, stout rhizome stem 8 - 15 cm tall Flowers: single, upright, with six distinct tepals. Flower stalk more or less upright, 1 - 3 cm long, recurved in fruit. Stamens six, alternating in two whorls of three. Sepals: three, persistent, bluish green, 1 - 3.2 cm long, 2 - 7 mm wide, much shorter than the petals, lance-shaped, spreading, flat. Petals: three, white (sometimes with a pinkish base), 1.5 - 4 cm long, 0.8 - 1.5 cm wide, egg-shaped to oblong, recurved to upright-spreading, shriveling after the flowering period. Fruit: a many-seeded berry, greenish white, 0.6 - 1 cm long, 0.5 - 0.8 cm wide, rounded to egg-shaped, pulpy. Seeds many, elliptic.

Similar species: This species and Trillium recurvatum differ from other Trillium species by having distinctly stalked leaves. Trillium recurvatum differs by having a stalkless flower that is typically maroon.

Flowering: mid-March to late April

Habitat and ecology: Rare in the Chicago Region. Typical of moist woods.

Occurence in the Chicago region: native

Notes: Trilliums do not actually have true leaves or stems above the ground. The underground rhizome produces scale-like leaves called cataphylls. The aboveground leaf-like structures are bracts that subtend the flower, but these are internally and externally similar to leaves and function in photosynthesis. Many authors will refer to them as leaves.

Etymology: Trillium comes from the Greek word trilix, meaning triple, referring to how all the plant parts occur in threes. Nivale means snow-white.

Author: The Morton Arboretum

Diminutive; stem 8-15 cm at anthesis; lvs elliptic to lance- ovate or ovate, at anthesis 3-5 cm, acute or usually obtuse, rounded at base to a petiole 5-10 mm; peduncle ±erect, 1-3 cm, recurved in fr; sep lanceolate, much shorter than the pet; pet white (sometimes pinkish at base), elliptic or elliptic-obovate, 2.5-4 cm, obtuse; anthers 7-10 mm, somewhat exceeding the slender filaments; ovary subglobose, roundly 3-lobed. Rich moist woods; w. Pa. and W.Va. to Minn., s. S.D., w. Nebr., and Mo. Mar., Apr.

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

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