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Description:
Persistent trillium is a perennial herb growing to an approximate height of 25 centimeters (USFWS 1991) terminating with a whorl of 3 leaves at the tip of the stem. The leaves are up to 9 cm in length and 1.5 to 3.5 cm in width (Patrick et. al. 1995) and have pointed tips (USFWS 1991). In early spring (mid-March to mid-April) before the surrounding trees leaf out (NatureServe 2003), persistent trillium produces a single, white, three-petaled flower on an erect and slightly arching stalk (USFWS 1991). The single flower is on an erect or slightly arching stalk (pedicel) 1.5 to 4.5 cm in length, with the flower oriented at an angle of 60 to 80 degrees above horizontal (Patrick et. al. 1995). The petals are 20 to 35 mm in length (Patrick et. al. 1995) and 5 to 9 mm in width (USFWS 1991). The petals are undulate and turn purple (except at the base) as the flower ages. Persistent trillium has 6 stamens 10 to 14 mm in length that are symmetrically arranged around the ovary. The pale yellow anthers are slightly longer than the white filaments. The style is 2 to 6 mm in length positioned on top of the ovary. From late June to mid-July, the fruit (a fleshy capsule) approximately 1.0 to 1.2 cm in length by 0.5 to 0.8 cm in width is produced. The greenish-white capsule is weakly 6-lobed containing 5 to 40 plump seeds when mature (Patrick et. al. 1995). Juvenile persistent trillium plants are single-leaved until the 6th year when a three-leaved plant is produced. As with other slow-growing trillium species, it takes 7 to 10 years to produce a mature, 3-leaved, flowering plant. Some persistent trillium plants may possibly live for 30 or more years (USFWS 1991).
Habitat:
Persistent trillium inhabits deciduous or mixed hemlock-pine-deciduous forests (USFWS, 1991) typically on steep slopes (NatureServe 2003) and ravines or gorges under or near great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) or piedmont rhododendron (R. minus). Persistent trillium is usually rooted in well-decomposed litter and loose loam and individuals occur singly or in clusters of less than 10 from 750 to 1,500 feet altitude. Associated plant species include Indian cucumber (Medeola virginiana), Catesby's trillium (Trillium catesbaei), little sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum), pale yellow trillium (Trillium discolor), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), American basswood (Tilia heterophylla), sweet birch (Betula lenta), mountain magnolia (Magnolia fraseri), oaks (Quercus spp.), red maple (Acer rubrum), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), partridge berry (Mitchella repens), strawberry bush (Euonymus americana), heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), and bog white violet (Viola primulifolia) (USFWS 1991).
Range:
Persistent trillium is restricted to the Tallulah-Tugaloo River system in northeastern Georgia and adjacent South Carolina and is recorded from three counties in Georgia (Patrick et. al. 1995). A large, contiguous population probably extended along the river banks before major dams and reservoirs inundated former habitat and fragmented the range (NatureServe 2003).
References
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