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Trillium recurvatum

species of plant

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ3009702 ↗
Source-derived summary

Trillium recurvatum, the prairie trillium, toadshade, or bloody butcher, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to parts of central and eastern United States, where it is found from Iowa south to Texas and east to North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It grows in mesic forests and savannas, often in calcareous soils. It is also known as bloody noses, red trillium, prairie wake-robin, purple trillium, and reflexed trillium, in reference to its reflexed sepals. T. recurvatum is a host plant as well as food source for several insects and mammals.

Description

Trillium recurvatum grows up to 40 cm (16 in) tall with three ovate to lanceolate bracts, mottled green, 6 to 18 cm (2 to 7 in) long and 2 to 6.5 cm (1 to 3 in) across, petiolate at maturity. The plant grows both individually and in clusters, though usually not in large groups.

The flower has three brown to maroon petals that are 1.8 to 4.8 cm (1 to 2 in) long and 0.9 to 2 cm (0 to 1 in) across, with the petal tips arching over the stamens. The sepals are recurved, pointing downwards when the flower has fully opened. The anthers are also dark purple, up to 16 mm (1 in) long.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Trillium recurvatum” as species of plant. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Trillium, recurvatum and species.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 214-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Trillium, recurvatum and species providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Trillium recurvatum”, the useful work is to connect “species of plant” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3009702. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Trillium recurvatum”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Trillium recurvatum primary sources, Trillium recurvatum archive and Trillium research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Trillium recurvatum”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Trillium recurvatum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.