Trillium vaseyi
| Trillium vaseyi | |
|---|---|
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| Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Melanthiaceae |
| Genus: | Trillium |
| Species: | T. vaseyi
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| Binomial name | |
| Trillium vaseyi | |
| Synonyms[4] | |
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Homotypic synonyms
Heterotypic synonyms
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Trillium vaseyi is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a spring-flowering perennial plant found only in the southeastern United States. The specific epithet vaseyi honors the American plant collector George Richard Vasey, not to be confused with his father George S. Vasey. The species is commonly called Vasey's Trillium. It is also known as the sweet wakerobin, sweet trillium, or sweet beth.
Description
[edit]Trillium vaseyi has among the largest flowers in genus Trillium, with red petals up to 7 cm long. It grows in rich woods, sometimes on riverbanks but other times on steep slopes.[5]
Taxonomy
[edit]Trillium vaseyi was named and described by the American botanist Thomas Grant Harbison in 1901.[3] The type specimen was collected in the mountains of North Carolina in 1878.[6] In his description, Harbison mentions Dr. George Vasey but in fact the type specimen was collected by his son George Richard Vasey.[7][8][9][10]
In 1938, Lane Barksdale described Trillium vaseyi var. simile based on a type specimen collected by the American botanist Henry Allan Gleason in 1904.[11][12] Although Gleason stated the flower stalk was "declined or cernuous", that of the type specimen is erect.[13][14] As of January 2025[update], Trillium vaseyi var. simile (Gleason) Barksd. is a homotypic synonym for Trillium simile Gleason.[15]
Trillium vaseyi is a member of Trillium subgenus Trillium, commonly called the erectum group, seven of which occur in the southeastern United States: Trillium cernuum, Trillium erectum, Trillium flexipes, Trillium rugelii, Trillium simile, Trillium sulcatum, and Trillium vaseyi. Natural hybrids are common within this group.
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Trillium vaseyi is endemic to the Southeastern United States. It occurs primarily in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.[4][16] A disjunct population is also known to occur in Lee County, Alabama.[17]
Conservation
[edit]As of April 2023[update], the global conservation status of Trillium vaseyi is listed as vulnerable and near threatened by NatureServe and IUCN (resp.).[1][2] It is critically imperiled in Alabama.
References
[edit]- ^ a b NatureServe (6 December 2024). "Trillium vaseyi". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Sweet Trillium (Trillium vaseyi)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2022-2. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Trillium vaseyi Harb.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Trillium vaseyi Harb.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^ Case Jr., Frederick W. (2002). "Trillium vaseyi". 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 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Harbison (1901), p. 24.
- ^ Floden & Knapp (2023), p. 198.
- ^ "Specimen US00091979: Trillium vaseyi Harb.". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Specimen NY00319910: Trillium vaseyi Harbison". New York Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ "Specimen NY00319911: Trillium vaseyi Harbison". New York Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ "Trillium vaseyi var. simile (Gleason) Barksd.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ Barksdale (1938), pp. 285–287.
- ^ Floden & Knapp (2023), p. 197.
- ^ "Specimen NY00051079: Trillium simile Gleason". New York Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ "Trillium simile Gleason". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^ NRCS. "Trillium vaseyi". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ "Trillium vaseyi". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]- Barksdale, Lane (1938). "The pedicellate species of Trillium found in the southern Appalachians". Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. 54 (2): 271–296. JSTOR 24332541.
- Case, Frederick W.; Case, Roberta B. (1997). Trilliums. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 170–176. ISBN 978-0-88192-374-2.
- Floden, Aaron; Knapp, Wesley (June 2023). "Typification of the North American species of Trillium subg. Trillium (Melanthiaceae: Parideae)". Phytotaxa. 599 (3): 193–200. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.599.3.6.
- Harbison, Thomas G. (1901). "New or little known species of Trillium". Biltmore Botanical Studies. 1 (1): 19–24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
External links
[edit]- Citizen science observations for Trillium vaseyi at iNaturalist
- Pistrang, Mark. "Vasey's Trillium (Trillium vaseyi) Harbison". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- Weakley, Alan S.; Southeastern Flora Team (2024). "Trillium vaseyi Harbison". Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
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