''Trillium oostingii'', commonly known as Wateree trillium,
is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Melanthiaceae
Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to t ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the central part of the
US State of
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
.
Wateree trillium grows under a canopy of
deciduous trees
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...
such as
bitternut hickory,
black walnut,
slippery elm
''Ulmus rubra'', the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America.
Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm.
Description
''Ulmus rubra'' is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a spre ...
,
box-elder, and various
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
species, in rich
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
soils. Here it forms large colonies alongside
mayapple, another spring-flowering herb.
[Gaddy, L. L. 2008. A new sessile-flowered ''Trillium'' (Liliaceae: subgenus ''Phyllantherum)'' from South Carolina. Phytologia 90:382-389.]
Wateree trillium most closely resembles the
sessile-flowered trilliums, ''
T. lancifolium'' and ''
T. recurvatum'', but is distinguished from these chiefly by floral anatomy. In ''T. oostingii'', the
anthers are only slightly incurved (curved toward the center of the flower) and have much shorter
filaments, resulting in a more compressed look. According to
DNA sequence analysis, ''T. oostingii'' is more distantly related to either of these species than they are to each other.
[
Wateree trillium has three broadly rounded, mottled leaves atop a single, 10–30 cm stem. Its flowers have three green-yellow petals and three green to maroon ]sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...
s.[
]
References
External links
*
J Fowler Photography, ''Trillium oostingii'' (Wateree Trillium) — a rare ''Trillium'' in central South Carolina and ''Zephyranthes atamasco'' (Atamasco Lily)
*
oostingii
Flora of South Carolina
Endemic flora of the United States
Plants described in 2008
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Liliales-stub