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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Trillium cuneatum

Purple Toadshade, Sweet Betsy, Little Sweet Trillium, Little Sweet Betsy, Bloody Butcher

Scientific Name:

Trillium cuneatum

Genus:

Trillium

Species Epithet:

cuneatum

Common Name:

Purple Toadshade, Sweet Betsy, Little Sweet Trillium, Little Sweet Betsy, Bloody Butcher

Plant Type

Herb/Wildflower

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Trilliaceae (Trillium Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

0-1 ft., 1-3 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

Yellow, Green, Purple, Brown

Light:

Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day, Less than 2 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist

Bloom Time:

Feb, March, April

Growing Area:

Mountains, Piedmont

Habitat Description:

In rich soils of cove forests, moist slopes, and bottomlands, usually over mafic or calcareous rocks, locally abundant. Uncommon in NC Mountains and Piedmont.

Leaf Arrangement:

Whorled

Leaf Retention:

Deciduous

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Has some wildlife value

Landscape Value:

Suitable for home landscapes

State Rank:

S3: Vulnerable (*Key)

Global Rank:

G4 - Apparently Secure, G5 - Secure (*Key)

State Status:

Exploited (*Key)

Notes:

FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA "Flower borne upon bracts, erect, odor usually pleasant, faint, spicy, reminiscent of odor of bruised sweetshrub (Calycanthus) leaves, occasionally musty or unpleasant; sepals widely spreading, variably green, purple-streaked to all purple,"

NC Natural Heritage Program lists as exploited, S3, G4G5.

T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Habitat!!!

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

April 2004 Lake Randleman Rescue Site
The blue paint on the tree marked the limits of the rescue area

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Bud

image

T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Habitat
Note the older tan bloom against the tree trunk

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Silver Leaves
Note that the bud did not form.

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Another Silver Leafed Plant

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Dark Leafed Plant

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

Typical Leaves
With a Dusting of Pollen

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T. cuneatum f. cuneatum

More Typical Leaves

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T. cuneatum f. luteum bud

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T. cuneatum f. luteum

Plants

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T. cuneatum f. luteum

Plants

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Plants just beginning to emerge

garden in Orange County, NC

The Scientific Name is Trillium cuneatum. You will likely hear them called Purple Toadshade, Sweet Betsy, Little Sweet Trillium, Little Sweet Betsy, Bloody Butcher. This picture shows the Plants just beginning to emerge of Trillium cuneatum

Bettina Darveaux

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Flora of North America
NC State Extension



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