Wake robin

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Wake robin

Wake robin

Morphology

Stem

Erect, stout, unbranched, smooth; base reddish-purple.

Leaves

Whorl of 3 leaves at top of stem, sessile; blades broadly egg-shaped, 1.6 to 3.6 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, net veined, inconspicuously to strongly mottled, mottling becomes obscure with age; tips often abruptly pointed.

Inflorescence

Single flower, sessile, terminal.

Flower

Fragrance pungent; perianth segments 6; outer segments 3, green, spreading to ascending, broadly lanceolate, .6 to 1.2 inches long, margins entire, tips pointed; inner segments 3, brownish-purple, becoming yellowish-green with age, erect, enclosing stamens, broadly elliptical, .8 to 1.6 inch long, broadest in lower 1/2 or near middle, margins entire, tips pointed; stamens 6, about 1/2 as long as inner perianth segments; anthers and filaments reddish-purple or purplish-brown.

Fruit

Berry, nearly spherical, dark greenish-purple, pulpy, not juicy; seeds several per compartment, elliptic.

Ecology

Habitat

Rich, moist woods; deciduous wooded slopes; low, moist ravine bottoms; stream banks; rocky and non-rocky calcareous soils.

Distribution

Easternmost counties of Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

The berries, seeds, and rhizomes of trilliums are thought to be poisonous.

Uses

Native Americans and pioneers applied a poultice of crushed leaves to boils, snakebites, and stings. A tea made from the plant was taken for sickness.

Additional Notes