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• Melanthiaceae
• Trillium
• Trillium nivale

Trillium nivale — snow wakerobin

Facts

Snow wakerobin is native to parts of the Midwest, where it is typically scattered and uncommon. It is not currently a resident of New England. One population known historically from Connecticut, likely originating from planting, may no longer be present. It is one of the smallest and earliest-flowering of the wakerobins (Trillium).

Habitat

Forests

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

  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 petal color

  white

  Flower petal length

  15–35 mm

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Form of style

  NA

  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

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture

  Sepal length

  10–32 mm

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are not fused to the petals or tepals

  Style length

  0.5–1 mm

  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

  • green
  • white

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit length

  6–10 mm

  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)

  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

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• 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 a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  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

  15–45 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  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 obtuse (bluntly pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is rounded, with no point

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are palmate, (and do not arch towards the leaf tip) or pinnate

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Connecticut

  Specific habitat

  forests

• 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

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae