''Trillium decipiens'', also known as Chattahoochee River wakerobin or deceiving trillium, is a spring-flowering perennial plant. It occurs mostly near the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...

in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.''Trillium decipiens''
Retrieved March 18, 2015. Scattered populations are found elsewhere in these three states, all within the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

or Gulf Coastal Plain. Rich deciduous woods of bluffs, ravines, and alluvial land provide its most favored habitat.

Description

''Trillium decipiens'' is a sessile-flowered trillium, that is, it has no flower stalk. The flower has three purple, brown, or green (rarely yellow) petals that stand upright at the junction of the three strikingly mottled leaves. It is one of the earliest trilliums, often starting to bloom in January or February. ''Trillium decipiens'' is often confused with ''

Trillium underwoodii ''Trillium underwoodii'', the longbract wakerobin, is a plant species found only in the southeastern United States (Alabama, Georgia, and northern Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Flori ...

'' but the two species are easily distinguished by plant height. In the case of ''T. underwoodii'', the stem is 1–1.5 times longer than the leaves at flowering, whereas with ''T. decipiens'', the stem is 2.5–3 times longer than the leaves.

Taxonomy

''Trillium decipiens'' was first described by

John Daniel Freeman John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

in 1975. Phylogenetic analysis has since shown a lack of separation between ''T. decipiens'' and ''T. underwoodii'', indicating the need to re-evaluate their status as distinct species.

Bibliography

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References

External links

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Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) occurrence data and maps for ''Trillium decipiens''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3024477 decipiens Vulnerable plants Flora of Alabama Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of Florida