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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Trillium erectum — red trillium, red wakerobin

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Facts

Red wakerobin is a common trillium in moist deciduous, and sometimes mixed, forests throughout New England. The fetid smelling flowers attract carrion flies, which act as pollinators. Though it is called red wakerobin, some populations have white, yellow-green, or paler red flowers.

Habitat

Floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, talus and rocky slopes

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
Leaf arrangement
whorled: there are three or more leaves per node along the stem
Leaf blade shape
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)
Leaf blade length
50–200 mm
Flower petal color
  • blue to purple
  • green to brown
  • pink to red
  • white
  • yellow
Flower petal length
15–50 mm
Petal fusion
the perianth parts are separate
Inflorescence type
the inflorescence has only one flower on it
Ovary position
the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
Fruit type (specific)
the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
Fruit length
10–16 mm
Show all characteristics

  • Clonal plantlets

    Axillary bulblets
    there are no bulblets being produced in axils

  • Flowers

    Anther attachment
    the anther is attached by its base to the filament
    Anther color
    there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers
    Anther length
    5–12 mm
    Bulblets replace flowers
    there are no bulblets where the flowers are located
    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)
    Flower number
    1
    Flower orientation
    the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward
    Flower petal color
    • blue to purple
    • green to brown
    • pink to red
    • white
    • yellow
    Flower petal length
    15–50 mm
    Flower shape
    the flower is flattened or platter-shaped
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Fringed petal edges
    the petals are not fringed
    Hairs on flower stalk
    the flower stalk has no hairs on it
    Inflorescence type
    the inflorescence has only one flower on it
    Length of flower stalk
    10–100 mm
    Length of peduncle
    30–80 mm
    Marks on petals
    there are no noticeable marks on the petals
    Nectar spur
    the flower has no nectar spurs
    Number of carpels
    3
    Number of sepals and/or petals
    there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower
    Number of styles
    0–1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal base
    the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal appearance
    the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
    Sepal length
    10–50 mm
    Sepal orientation
    the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    the sepals are separate from one another
    Spathe
    the plant does not have a spathe
    Spathe form
    NA
    Spathe length
    0 mm
    Stamen length
    5–15 mm
    Stamen number
    6
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamen types
    the stamens within a cycle are all similar
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another
    Stamens fused outwards
    the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals
    Style petal-like
    the style is not broad and flattened like a petal
    Tepals
    the petals and sepals are different in size and color

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    • purple
    • red
    Capsule ridges
    NA
    Fruit compartments
    there are three locules in the fruit
    Fruit cross-section
    • the fruit is roughly triangular in cross-section
    • the fruit is round in cross-section
    Fruit length
    10–16 mm
    Fruit stalk orientation
    the fruits point upward or spread or curve outward
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    Fruit width
    10–15 mm
    Other markings on berry
    the ripe fruits are mostly one color without spots or streaks

  • Glands or sap

    Sap
    the sap is clear and watery

  • Growth form

    Lifespan
    the plant lives more than two years
    Root septa
    the roots do not have transverse septa
    Underground organs
    • the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
    • there are only slender roots on the plant

  • Leaves

    Leaf arrangement
    whorled: there are three or more leaves per node along the stem
    Leaf blade basal lobes
    the leaf blades do not have basal lobes
    Leaf blade base
    the leaf has no stalk
    Leaf blade base shape
    the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
    Leaf blade cross-section
    the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section
    Leaf blade faces
    both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed
    Leaf blade form
    Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant
    Leaf blade length
    50–200 mm
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)
    Leaf blade surface colors
    the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color
    Leaf blade tip
    the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
    Leaf blade veins
    the lateral veins are palmate, (and do not arch towards the leaf tip) or pinnate
    Leaf blade width
    50–200 mm
    Leaf stalk length
    0 mm
    Leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
    Leaflet number
    0
    Stipule twining
    NA
    Stipules
    there are no stipules on this plant

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • forests
    • river or stream floodplains
    • talus or rocky slopes

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the leaves have no particular smell

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Flowering stem growth form
    the flowering stem is held upright
    Flowering stem leaves
    there are no true leaves on the flowering stem
    Stem hairs
    the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Maine
unranked (S-rank: SNR)
Massachusetts
widespread (S-rank: S5)
Rhode Island
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), state endangered (code: SE)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

2.  Trillium erectum L. N

red wakerobin. Trillium purpureum Kin ex Elliot • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; nearly throughout. Mesic, deciduous forests, less frequently in mixed evergreen-deciduous forests. Trillium erectum normally has dark red to red-purple petals. However, rangewide this species shows white, yellow-green, and paler red forms. None of these variants have been named within T. erectum save for var. album, which was named from plants in the mountains of the Carolinas and, at least in part, may represent introgressants with T. flexipes (Case and Case 1997). Because var. album in the Carolinas may possess real genetic differences from typical T. erectum, it may deserve recognition at some rank. However, our New England plants of T. erectum with white petals are simply sporadic color morphs. Given that other color forms are not provided 
formal recognition, what has been called var. album in New England is here subsumed in the species and regarded as a form without formal rank.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Trillium recurvatum:
leaf blades usually mottled, flowers sessile, and petals erect or arching inward (vs. T. erectum, with leaf blades not mottled, flowers borne on a peduncle, and petals spreading from near the base).
Trillium cernuum:
petals white, 1-2.5 cm long and peduncles 1-3 cm long, drooping, positioning the flowers beneath the leaves (vs. T. erectum petals red-purple or very rarely white, 2.5-5 cm long and peduncles usually 3-8 cm long, erect to spreading, usually positioning the flowers above or level with the leaves).

Synonyms

  • Trillium purpureum Kin

Family

Melanthiaceae

Genus

Trillium