UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



IN 



BOTANY 



Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-24, plates 1-4 



October 3, 1916 



NOTES ON THE CALIFORNIAN SPECIES OF 



TBILLIUM L. 



I. A REPORT OF THE GENERAL RESULTS OF FIELD AND 

 GARDEN STUDIES, 1911-1916 



BY 



THOMAS HAEPEE GOODSPEED and EOBEET PEECY BEANDT 



For the past six years a study of the species of Trillium peculiar 

 especially to Western Middle California has been carried on under 

 the general supervision of the senior author with a number of assist- 

 ants. The investigation was originally undertaken at the suggestion 

 of Professor W. L. Jepson, who pointed out the remarkable range 

 of color variation in Tnlliuni sessile var. giganteum H. & A. and 

 suggested that it might be possible to segregate color forms geograph- 

 ically. It was also suggested that garden studies might throw light 

 upon their origin. Interest at the start thus centered about the range 

 and origin of color variation in T. sessile var. giganteum ; the extent 

 of the investigation necessary in this connection has brought up a 

 large number of problems seemingly of equal or greater interest. 

 Indeed, it has been found necessary to extend the investigation to 

 include comparative studies of T. ovatum Pursh. The present report 

 aims to treat very briefly of the sj^stematic position of the various 

 species of Trillium native to California and to include a description 

 of the general results of field and garden studies primarily upon 

 T. sessile var. giganteum. 



Field studies of var. giganteum have covered rather thoroughly 

 the territory which is fairly definitely limited by the term Western 

 Middle California.^ That portion of the Coast Range which borders 

 upon San Francisco Bay on tlie east and may be spoken of as the 



1 Jepson, W. L., Flora of Western Middle California, San Francisco, 1911. 



