Little sweet betsy

Description

Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet betsy, also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States but is especially common in a region that extends from southern Kentucky through central Tennessee to northern Alabama. In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April (depending on latitude). It is the largest of the eastern sessile-flowered trilliums. Trillium cuneatum has three broad, mottled leaves surrounding a sessile, banana-scented flower. The petals are erect and either maroon, bronze, green, or yellow in color. Trillium cuneatum is endemic to the southeastern United States, ranging from Kentucky southward to southern Mississippi, and to the eastern coast of South Carolina. It is native to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, with naturalized populations in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. There are hundreds of observations of T. cuneatum made by citizen scientists outside of its native range, in more than a dozen states, but especially in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. Trillium cuneatum prefers to grow in rich soils in mostly upland woods, especially limestone soils but also at less calcareous sites. It is found at elevations of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft). Trillium cuneatum was first described by Rafinesque in 1840. The specific epithet cuneatum, which means "narrow below and wide above, wedge-shaped", refers to the tapered shape of the basal half of its flower petal. As of February 2022, Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts no infraspecific names for Trillium cuneatum. Some authorities recognize the name Trillium cuneatum f. luteum J.D.Freeman, a form marked by the absence of purple pigments from all floral parts. It occurs in the midst of purple-flowered plants throughout the range of the species. Although both have yellow (or greenish-yellow) petals, Trillium cuneatum f. luteum J.D.Freeman is not regarded as the taxonomic or genetic equivalent of Trillium luteum (Muhl.) Harb.