Friday, May 3, 2013

Wildflowers at Boggs Creek Recreation Area: Take 3 - Trilliums

April 20th, 2013. Our third trip to Boggs Creek Recreation Area. The trilliums were still a focus of interest. Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower) had finished blooming but Trillium catesbaei (Bashful Wakerobin, Catesby’s Trillium, Rosy Wake-robin, Rose Trillium) were still blooming and the mystery trillium had yet to be identified.


On our previous trips to  Boggs Creek Recreation Area in the Chestatee Wildlife Management in Lumpkin County, we had found a new (for us) trillium that had set buds which were curling under the leaves as they developed. Now the question would be… ‘What color is the flower’. I was placing bets with myself as to which trillium they would be. A white flower would be the Illscented Wakerobin (Trillium rugelii) and a maroon flower would be the Sweet Wakerobin (Trillium vaseyi). Which would it be? I was betting it would be a white trillium…


When we pulled into the parking spot, we couldn’t see any color at all. Disappointment. But then we spotted a flash of color… Maroon! The flower was maroon. Trillium vaseyi (Sweet Wakerobin, Vasey's Trillium, Sweet Trillium, Sweet Beth).


It was breezy that day but I found a solitary plant at the base of a tree in the shade some distance from the main patch.


From a distance, and…


up close.


The calyces

The flower, photographed under a cloudy sky, and…


in bright sunlight.


Closer views of the center of the flower.


With this mystery solved, we looked around for flowers of the Trillium catesbaei (Bashful Wakerobin, Catesby's Trillium, Rosy Wake-robin, Bashful Trillium, RoseTrillium) that we had seen scattered in the woods near the Trillium vaseyi plants. The Trillium catesbaei plants were scattered not only here but along the roadside to the end of the road that is still open. We found ourselves stopping repeatedly to take ‘just one more’ photograph. Really, just one more…  



The name ‘Bashful Wakerobin’ seems apt as the flowers ‘hide’ beneath the leaves, peeking out. A couple of flowers exposed more than normal by the breezy conditions…


A closer view

The calyces


The flowers are white when they first open but gradually turn pink as they age.


An ‘almost white’ flower


A much pinker flower





Close ups of the center of the flower


Images of flowers in the sun on an embankment beside the road.

We never tire of photographing trilliums.

Click on an image to view a larger image



Identification Resources:

Southeastern Flora


Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: 
- Trillium vaseyi (Vasey's Trillium, Sweet Trillium, Sweet Beth)  
- Trillium catesbaei (Catesby's Trillium, Rosy Wake-robin, Bashful Trillium, Rose Trillium)

 
Distribution:

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:


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