Trillium recurvatum, the prairie trillium,[3]toadshade,[4][5] or bloody butcher,[6] is a species of perennialherbaceousflowering plant in the familyMelanthiaceae.[3][6] It is native to parts of central and eastern United States, where it is found from Iowa south to Texas and east to North Carolina and Pennsylvania.[6][7] It grows in mesic forests and savannas, often in calcareous soils.[8][9] It is also known as bloody noses,[3]red trillium,[4]prairie wake-robin,[5]purple trillium,[10] and reflexed trillium,[11] in reference to its reflexed sepals.[11][10]
. . . Trillium recurvatum . . .
Trillium recurvatum grows up to 40 cm (16 in) tall with three ovate to lanceolate bracts, mottled green, 6 to 18 cm (2 to 7 in) long and 2 to 6.5 cm (1 to 3 in) across, petiolate at maturity.[3][10]
The flower has three brown to maroon petals that are 1.8 to 4.8 cm (1 to 2 in) long and 0.9 to 2 cm (0 to 1 in) across, with the petal tips arching over the stamens.[3][10] The sepals are recurved, pointing downwards when the flower has fully opened. The anthers are also dark purple, up to 16 mm (1 in) long.[12] The stigmas are recurved at the tips.[12] It is distinguished from other sessile-flowered Trillium species, such as Trillium sessile, by its reflexed sepals.[10]
The fruit is green, sometimes streaked with purple or white, with six well-developed ridges.[12] The seeds have an oil-rich structure called an elaiosome, which promotes dispersal by ants and other foraging insects.
. . . Trillium recurvatum . . .