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Trillium decipiens J.D. Freeman
Mimic Trillium
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G3G4
State Rank: S3?
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: Moderate Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 11
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Mesic hardwood forests; limesink forests
Perennial herb with hairless, erect stems 7 - 17 inches (17 - 44 cm) tall, about the same length as the leaves before flowering (i.e. the leaf tips can almost touch the ground if pushed down); during and after flowering, the stem lengthens to 2 - 3 times longer than the leaves. Leaves are 3 per plant, arranged in a whorl at the top of the stem, 3 - 6.7 inches (8 - 17 cm) long and 1.6 - 3.3 inches (4.0 - 8.5 cm) wide; leaves are patterned with 3 - 5 shades of green and have a silvery streak along the midvein; leaves of mature plants are somewhat less mottled; note that in some Trillium treatments, the leaves are referred to as "bracts." The stalkless flower is held at the center of the whorl of leaves; it reportedly smells like over-ripe bananas or old sneakers. Sepals are 3 in number, semi-erect or spreading, green to maroon. Petals are 3 in number, erect, 2 - 3.5 inches (5 - 9 cm) long, broadly oval (1.5 - 3 times longer than broad), erect; maroon, green, or bronzy-yellow; overlapping at the base and hiding the stamens and ovary. Stamens are 6 in number, with vertical pollen sacs (anthers) opening along both sides to release pollen. The ovary is dark green to brown, sharply 6-angled.
Underwood’s Trillium (Trillium underwoodii) flowers reportedly smell yeasty (like stale beer), and the petals are narrowly elliptic or lance-shaped, 3 - 5 times longer than wide. Its stem is about the same length as the leaves during flowering; later, after flowering, the stems may sometimes elongate to 2 - 3 times the length of the leaves, at which point the plants closely resemble Mimic Trillium.
Mottled Trillium (Trillium maculatum) has narrowly spatula-shaped petals and anthers that open inward rather than along the sides; the fragrance is reportedly banana-like or spicy.
There are at least 22 named species of Trillium in Georgia, 12 of which are rare:
Trillium decipiens (Mimic Trillium) occurs in moist hardwood forests and limesink forests in southwest Georgia. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=20231
Trillium delicatum (Ocmulgee Trillium) occurs in central Georgia in moist to wet floodplain forests with high pH soils. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34971
Trillium discolor (Pale Yellow Trillium) occurs in moist hardwood forests only in the Savannah River watershed. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18320
Trillium flexipes (Bent Trillium) occurs in moist hardwood forests over limestone in northwest Georgia. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Trillium_flexipes
Trillium lancifolium (Lanceleaf Trillium) occurs in floodplain forests and lower slopes over basic soils in widely scattered locations in Georgia. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Trillium_lancifolium
Trillium persistens (Persistent Trillium) occurs in pine-hemlock-mixed hardwood forests in ravines or along streams in northeast Georgia, often with rhododendrons or in lowbush blueberry thickets. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=19927
Trillium pusillum (Dwarf Trillium) occurs in seasonally wet, red maple-blackgum-oak woods in calcium-rich, clay soils in northwest Georgia. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18756
Trillium reliquum (Relict Trillium) occurs in mature hardwood forests in rich ravines and on stream terraces, over calcium-rich bedrock such as amphibolite or limestone. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=17442
Trillium simile (Sweet White Trillium) occurs in Georgia's Blue Ridge mountains in rich coves or slopes over mafic rocks, often in or near seepage. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Trillium_simile
Trillium sp. [newly recognized, unnamed species] (Lookout Mountain Toadshade) occurs in rich forests in northwest Georgia, southeast Tennessee, and northeast Alabama; it resembles Trillium ludovicianum, a species not known to occur in Georgia.
Trillium sp. [newly recognized, unnamed species] (Amicalola Trillium) occurs in Blue Ridge cove forests in Georgia and South Carolina; it resembles Trillium simile.
Trillium sulcatum (Barksdale Trillium) occurs in rich, moist hardwood forests in northwest Georgia. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Trillium_sulcatum
Mature hardwood forests in rich ravines in the Coastal Plain along the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries, with Beech, Southern Magnolia, and Spruce Pine.
Trilliums are perennial herbs that send up stems, leaves, and flowers in early spring, after temperatures have risen but before the forest canopy has leafed out. Chattahoochee Trillium flowers, with their rotting fruit odor, are probably pollinated by flies and beetles. After flowering and fruiting, the aboveground plant disappears, persisting through the late summer, fall, and winter as an underground rhizome. Seeds shed in the summer germinate the following spring and, within a year or two, send up a single, spatula-shaped seed leaf (cotyledon) for one year’s growing season. The next year, a true leaf is produced and, in subsequent years, three-leaved plants appear. After 5 - 7 years (possibly fewer in the Coastal Plain), the plant produces a flowering stalk. Trillium seeds have small, fat-rich appendages called elaiosomes that are appealing to ants, yellow jackets, and other wasps, which carry the seed back to their nests, inadvertently dispersing the trillium seeds. Seeds are dispersed longer distances when the fruits are eaten by other animals such as deer and woodchucks. Some seeds are left where they fall if the elaiosomes are eaten off by beetles, resulting in clusters of seedlings near the parent plant. Some trilliums produce clonal rhizome offshoots that develop into immature plants that are eventually separated from the parent plant as the rhizomes decay. Mature trillium plants are very long-lived, perhaps living more than 100 years, but since the rhizome continues to lengthen and produce shoots on one end while the other end decays, it is impossible to determine age from rhizome growth scars.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (late January–early April).
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
Logging of hardwood slopes, conversion of habitat to pine plantations, competition from invasive pest plants, overbrowsing by deer, plant poaching, feral hog rooting.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Natural system modifications | Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Pollution |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Trillium decipiens is ranked S3? by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that the species is rare in Georgia but that additional research is needed to confirm its rarity rank. Easily confused with robust or post-flowering plants of the more common Underwood’s Trillium, Chattahoochee Trillium was once thought to be abundant but is actually rare and found only within 20 miles of the lower Chattahoochee River. Ten populations have been documented in Georgia but only one has been confirmed since 2000.
Protect hardwood slope forests from logging and conversion to pine plantations. Eradicate exotic pest plants, especially Japanese Honeysuckle and Kudzu. Reduce the size of Georgia’s deer herd. Eradicate feral hogs. Conduct field surveys to determine the current status of the species.
Broyles, B.B., S.M. Smith, T.R. Smith, and J.R. Kindt. 2013. A reevaluation of the use of rhizome scars to age plants of Trillium erectum (Melanthiaceae). American Journal of Botany 100(6): 1155-1161.
Case, F.W., Jr. 2003. Trillium decipiens species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 26. Oxford University Press, New York. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Trillium_decipiens
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Farmer, S.B. 2006. Trillium and the Trillium family (Trilliaceae). http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium
Farmer, S.B. and E.E. Schilling. 2002. Phylogenetic analyses of Trilliaceae based on morphological and molecular data. Systematic Botany 27: 674-692. https://bioone.org/journals/Systematic-Botany/volume-27/issue-4/0363-6445-27.4.674/Phylogenetic-Analyses-of-Trilliaceae-based-on-Morphological-and-Molecular-Data/10.1043/0363-6445-27.4.674.full
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Trillium decipiens. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Freeman, John D. 1975. Revision of Trillium subgenus Phyllantherum (Liliaceae). Brittonia 27:1-26. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2805646?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Leege, L. M., J. S. Thompson, and D.J. Parris. 2010. The responses of rare and common Trilliums (Trillium reliquum, T. cuneatum, and T. maculatum) to deer herbivory and invasive honeysuckle removal. Castanea 75(4): 433-443.
NatureServe. 2020. Trillium decipiens species account. NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150929/Trillium_decipiens
Ohara, M. 1989. Life history evolution in the genus Trillium. Plant Species Biology 4:1-28. https://esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1442-1984.1989.tb00044.x
Patrick, T.S. 2007. Trilliums of Georgia. Tipularia, Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society 22: 3 - 22.
Vellend, M., J. Myers, S. Gardescu, and P. Marks. 2003. Dispersal of Trillium seeds by deer: implications for long-distance migration of forest herbs. Ecology 84(4):1067-1072. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/0012-9658%282003%29084%5B1067%3ADOTSBD%5D2.0.CO%3B2
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Zettler, J. A., T. P. Spira, and A. A. Craig. 2001. Yellow Jackets (Vespula spp.) disperse Trillium spp. seeds in Eastern North America. American Midland Naturalist 146(2): 444-446. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3082926?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Linda G. Chafin
L.Chafin, Jan. 2009: original account
D.Weiler, Jan. 2010: added pictures
L. Chafin, June 2020: updated original account
