Trilliaceae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trilliaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists, as most authors have considered these plants to belong to the family Liliaceae. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), does not recognize such a family either and assigns the plants involved to family Melanthiaceae.
Nevertheless, some taxonomists have recognized a separate family Trilliaceae. The most important genus is Trillium, and the taxonomy of that genus has always been controversial. To paraphrase what Steven Elliott wrote of the genus Trillium in 1817,
- "this family is an interesting one. A whorl of leaves at the summit of a stem, supporting a single flower, it contains and conceals many species."
A recent treatment (Farmer and Schilling 2002) stated that the family Trilliaceae, which exhibits an arcto-tertiary distribution, is comprised of six genera. Three of these exhibit a wide distribution:
- Paris from Iceland to Japan,
- Daiswa from eastern Asia, and
- Trillium from North America and eastern Asia
Three are monotypic, endemic genera:
- Trillidium govanianum, with a tepaloid inflorescence, from the Himalaya Mountains;
- Kinugasa japonica, with petaloid sepals, from Japan; and
- Pseudotrillium rivale, newly segregated, with spotted petals, from the Pacific Northwest.
External links :
-
- Susan Farmer's web pages on Trilliaceae and the genus Trillium
- Trilliaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 3rd May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- links at CSDL, Texas
 Paris quadrifolia in flower |
 Paris quadrifolia in fruit |
 Paris quadrifolia from Sturm (1796) |
 Trillium grandiflorum |
 Trillium luteum |
 Trillium luteum |
 Trillium ovatum |
 Trillium tschonoskii |
