Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in the Smoky Mountains. All of the photos on this page were found near the top of the Chestnut Top Trail, starting to bloom in mid-March. The blossom tends from white to pale pink. There are also good displays of Trailing Arbutus along…
Gay Wings (Polygala paucifolia) is a perennial herb in the Milkwort family. The Greek name “Polygala” means much milk, and refers to the belief that eating these plants would increase the production of milk in nursing mothers and livestock. The two petals of the flower give the appearance of a bird in flight. Other common…
Dog Hobble (Leucothoe fontanesiana) is among the early Smoky Mountains wildflowers. It’s a member if the Heath family, like Trailing Arbutus, the Azaleas, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. The plant has evergreen, leathery leaves, and gets its name from a tendency to form impenetrable tangles along streams in the Smokies. The strongly scented white bloom clusters can…
Updated 2012: This blog post was originally written two years ago, in spring of 2010. The information here is still very valid and useful, but in the past couple of years I’ve adopted a more “minimalist” approach to photography, and especially wildflower photos. The main difference is that I’m now using a very lightweight camera,…
Star Grass (Hypoxis hirsuta) is a common perennial herb that grows to 8 inches or so. It blooms in mid-May, and when not in bloom looks much like a clump of grass. These Smoky Mtns wildflowers are similar to Blue-eyed Grass, and in fact I found both of these blooming grasses on the same day…
Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is a petite, delicate Smoky Mountains wildflower. It’s a member of the Iris family, and there are four varieties of Sisyrinchium: Pale, Eastern, Stout, and Slender. To be honest, I don’t know which ones are pictured here, but I’m calling them Stout. This wildflower grows to about 8 inches tall, and…
In the catalog of Smoky Mtns wildflowers, there are several species of Gentians represented. The variety shown here is Soapwort Gentian (Gentiana saponaria). It has the characteristic tight cluster of tubular blossoms that require bees to pry apart the petals as they do their pollination work. These are stunning late summer wildflowers which bloom in September…
Hearts-a-Bustin’ (Euonymus americanus) is actually a small shrub. In mid-to-late May these Smoky Mountains wildflowers show a charming but inconspicuous little bloom that shows little hint of the color that will come later. In September, when summer’s green is beginning to fade, the hearts bust open to reveal a stunning red berry. It’s an early…
The sunflowers family is a big one, with 20 species known to inhabit Tennessee, and 7 of those found within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On a tour of the Cades Cove Loop Road, you will see many of these. Early one morning recently, I made the loop, stopping constantly to investigate yet another…
The Smoky Mountains photos on this page are of Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris). These stunning summer wildflowers bloom in July and August in the Smokies. The blossoms can be from bright orange to yellow, with the distinctive long fringe, most noticeable in the photo at the bottom of this page. This orchid grows in…
To celebrate summer in the Smokies, for all my blog, facebook, and twitter followers I’m offering another free image in a series of Smoky Mountains photos that can be used as a desktop wallpaper or as a screensaver. The image, and all other wallpapers, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/ Just click on the file name wildflower-screensaver2.jpg,…
These Smoky Mountains photos show Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa), which is one of the wildflowers that is actually a shrub that grows to 10 feet tall. The bloom is distinguished from the Common form of Elderberries by the bright red fruit as well as a red tinge to the white blossom. The blossom is also more…
St. Andrews Cross (Hypericum hypericoides) is a member of the St. Johnswort family. It’s distinguished from the other Hypericum wildflowers primarily by the four petals, which form the cross, instead of the typical five petals. The blossom appears in July and August in the Smoky Mountains. Native Americans chewed the root as a remedy for…
Southern Mountain Cranberry (Vaccinium erythrocarpum) is a member of the Heath family … a blueberry bush with red berries! Another common name is Bearberry. It’s a low bush, about 3-4 feet tall. The wildflowers photos here were taken along the Appalachian Trail just west of Clingmans Dome, on a dry, rocky ridge-top. Bloom time for…
Hypericum is another family of wildflowers with lots of species. Over 25 can be identified in Tennessee and many of these can be found in the Smoky Mountains, giving plenty of opportunities for misidentification. Therefore, the two species in the photos here are my best effort to identify! St. Johns Wort is famous as an…
There are several species of Wood Sorrel wildflowers found in the Smoky Mountains. All have the characteristic shamrock-like leaves and high concentration of oxalic acid that gives them the common name Sour Grass. The common Mountain Wood Sorrel (Oxalis montana) pictured above is usually found at higher elevations, such as the acidic Spruce-Fir forests around Clingmans…
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) is a fairly common Smoky Mtns wildflower found in rich woods and along roadsides at low to mid-elevations. The photos on this page were taken along Newfound Gap Rd below the Chimneys Picnic Area. All of the plants in the Cimicifuga family are known as Bugbane, from their offensive odor and insect-repellent…
Purple-Fringed Orchid (Platanthera psycodes) is a stunning Smoky Mtns wildflower that favors the higher elevations. This is actually the Lesser Purple-Fringed Orchid, which grows 12 to 20 inches tall. The Greater version grows in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and grows to nearly 5 feet tall! Platanthera psycodes is a rare wildflower in the…
Mid-June to July is the bloom time for the wild Smoky Mountains Rhododendrons. There are primarily two types to look for. The White, or Rosebay, variety is most often seen along the creeks at all elevations. The Purple, or Catawba, variety is more often seen at high elevations along hillside trails. They are both beautiful…
There are many varieties of Spiderworts and Dayflowers, including those cultivated in flower gardens. Mountain Spiderwort (Tradescantia subaspera) is a Smoky Mountains wildflower that can be found up to mid-elevations. The photos on this page were taken in late May along Ace Gap Trail in the northwestern corner of the Smokies. Spiderworts are ephemeral, blooming…
Rosy Twisted Stalk (Streptopus roseus) is a member of the Lily family, and a small Smoky Mtns wildflower that blooms in May. It’s rare in the Smokies, but take a walk along the Appalachian Trail going west between Newfound Gap and Indian gap, and you will see this plant within a half-mile. The delicate tiny…
Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) is an April-blooming Smoky Mtns wildflower, with the flowers ranging in color from the light blue in the photo above to deep purple. Another common name is Woodland Phlox. It is one of several varieties of phlox found in the Smokies. Perhaps the most impressive display of this woodland beauty can…
Fairy Wand (Chamaelirium luteum) is another member of the Lily family, and is a fairly uncommon Smoky Mountains wildflower. It is unusual in that the male and female flowers grow on separate plants. The male flower is longer and whiter, with the female tending towards greenish-white. Also called Devil’s Bit. The photos on this page…
False Solomons Seal (Smilacina racemosa) has leaves that are very similar to true Solomons Seal, but the flowers are very different and make identification easy. This is a very common Smoky Mtns wildflower and can be found on almost any hike up to the mid-elevations from late April to May. The photos on this page…
Yellow Mandarin (Disporum lanuginosum) is a member of the Lily family. This Smoky Mtns wildflower blooms in late April or early May, growing one to two feet tall up to the mid-elevations. Typically the bloom is a pair of bell-shaped yellow-green flowers dangling beneath the leaves, giving it the other common name, Fairy Bells. One…
The bold red and yellow tubular blossoms against the new green leaf make Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) an unusually attractive Smoky Mtns wildflower. In the Smokies it is rare, growing only in the limestone-based soils of the northwest corner of the National Park. These are the same limestone deposits that create the caverns and sinks of…
Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia borealis), also called Yellow Bead Lily or Yellow Clintonia, is one of two Smoky Mtns wildflowers named for long-ago Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. The other one is Speckled Wood Lily, or White Clintonia. The reason these yellow wildflowers are called “Blue Bead” refers to the bright blue bead-like fruit…
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) is a member of the Lily family. It’s a graceful and delicate wildflower, with a single arching stem with upward-reaching leaves and tiny blossoms that hang down, as in the photo below. In fact, you might miss the small blossoms except for the fact that the plant likes to branch out…
The yellow variety of Meadow Parsnip (Thaspium barbinode) is very common and can be seen on many Smoky Mountains trails in late April into May. The name is somewhat of an oddity, as Meadow Parsnip is most commonly found in moist woods and stream banks in the Smokies. These wildflowers are members of the Parsley family….
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
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