Illscented Wakerobin

Description

Trillium rugelii, the illscented wakerobin,or southern nodding trillium, is a spring flowering perennial plant which is native to parts of the southeastern United States. Like a few other trillium species (T. catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. vaseyi and some T. flexipes), it hangs its flower below the leaves. It prefers to grow near streams in humus-rich soil under the shade of deciduous trees. It is in the Great Smoky Mountains, Fernbank Forest, Steven's Creek Heritage Preserve, and other places of the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountains in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. In the past, many authors cited specimens as T. cernuum, which has a similar though smaller flower with shorter stamens and thinner petals. Also, T. cernuum grows farther north and is less robust.