Trillium oostingii, commonly known as Wateree trillium,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is endemic to the central part of the US State of South Carolina.[2][3] Wateree trillium grows under a canopy of deciduous trees such as bitternut hickory, black walnut, slippery elm, box-elder, and various oak species, in rich floodplain soils. Here it forms large colonies alongside mayapple, another spring-flowering herb.[4]

Trillium oostingii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Trillium
Species:
T. oostingii
Binomial name
Trillium oostingii
Gaddy

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.[4]

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 sepals.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Stritch, Larry. "Wateree Trillium (Trillium oostingii)". United States Forest Service. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Trillium oostingii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Trillium oostingii". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Gaddy, L. L. 2008. A new sessile-flowered Trillium (Liliaceae: subgenus Phyllantherum) from South Carolina. Phytologia 90:382-389.
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