Trillium vaseyi Harbison
Wake robin, sweet wakerobin
Vasey’s trillium is native to the southeastern United States.
Plants: Plants have one to two round stems, and are 12–26″ (30–65 cm) tall.
Leaves: Three leaves, technically bracts, form a whorl atop each stem. Leaves are almost triangular in shape, sometimes wider near the base than they are long, and 4–8 ⨉ 2–8″ (10–20 ⨉ 6–20 cm) in size.
Flowers: While the flower appears above the leaves in many species of Trillium, these droop below, on a short petiole. Each flower is maroon (rarely yellow) in color, with three petals, and 1–2½ ⨉ 1½–2″ (3–6.5 ⨉ 4–6 cm). Each flower has a mild sweet odor. Flowers appear from April to May.
Fruits: Dark reddish maroon, generally oval but sometimes with flattened sides, ⅜–½ ⨉ ⅜–¾″ (1–1.4 ⨉ 1–2 cm).
Habitats: Rich woods, on riverbands or steep slopes.
See also this Trillium comparison table.
Online References:
Trillium erectum L. var. vaseyi (Harbison) H.E. Ahles
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (37 × 25 cm) 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (44 × 30 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Liliales | Includes lilies, tulips, trilliums, greenbriars, and others |
| Family | Melanthiaceae | Trillium family |
| Genus | Trillium | “Three-petaled lily” |
| Species | vaseyi | Named for George Richard Vasey (1852-1921), son of George Vasey (a doctor and later botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture), who collected plants in California for the government in 1876 and 1880 and later settled in Washington state |
Trillium vaseyi description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.