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…
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,…
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…
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,…
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…
Celebrating Mountain Laurel time, a special Smoky Mountains event that happens every May, I’m offering this free computer wallpaper or screensaver image. It’s a close-up of a bloom with some extra textures blended in. This photo, and all other Smoky Mountains wallpaper, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/ Just click on the file name “mountain-laurel-wall.jpg” and then…
Vasey’s Trillium (Trillium vaseyi) is the largest and the last blooming of the Smoky Mountains trilliums. It is found only in the Southern Appalachians and is infrequently found in the Smokies. The photos on this page were taken on the Kanati Fork Trail in late April. George Vasey was a Botanist who lived from 1822-1893,…
Happy Friday! It’s been a while since we had a Philosophical Friday. Today’s thoughts are about living in an area like Gatlinburg that features great changes in altitude. Downtown Gatlinburg is about 1500 feet above sea level, yet only about 20 miles away, on the top of Clingman’s Dome, the altitude has climbed to 6,643 feet!…
Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) is a tiny plant. The photos on this page make it seem larger than it is. In reality it is something like a white gumdrop lying on the forest floor! The globe-like blossom at the end of a single stem is known as an umbel. This variety of Ginseng has no…
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a delicate and beautiful presence all along Little River Rd in the Smoky Mountains during April. Look opposite of the river, along the rock walls that border the road. Their pale orange and yellow colors actually blend into the surroundings as you drive by, but if you stop at almost any…
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) is the largest, rarest, last to bloom, and probably the most stunning of the Smoky Mountains Decentras. The other two in this family are Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn. The word “decentra” in Greek means “two-spurred,” and describes the unique shape of the blossoms. The photos on this page were all…
Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier area of the Smoky Mountains is in peak bloom for spring wildflowers right now. The upper portion of the trail, from the long footbridge over the creek on up to Fern Falls, has a stunning ground cover of Fringed Phacelia. I counted over 20 species of wildflowers along Porters…
Trout Lily (Erythronium umbilicatum) is an early spring bloomer that can be found before the trees leaf out in the lower elevations of the Smoky Mountains. However, I have seen it blooming much later near the 6000 foot level along the Clingman’s Dome Road. Trout Lily often forms large colonies by way of their root…
Sweet White Trillium (Trillium simile) is the white form of Wakerobin Trillium, and is also called White Wakerobin. In the lower elevations of the Smoky Mountains this large trillium usually blooms in late March or early April. Sweet White Trillium can be identified by its dark purple center surrounded by yellow stamens. Stands of Trillium simile…
The calendar has turned towards warmth and renewal, the Smoky Mountains trails are shaking off their winter drowse, and once again we are headed towards the great spring wildflower pilgrimage. This is an exciting time of year when the trails seem to change on a daily basis. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a delicate, subtle beauty…
The wildflower season is just getting started. As of Monday, March 14th, here’s what’s happening on the Chestnut Top Trail, one of the best wildflower trails in the Smoky Mountains. There’s an army of Bloodroot ready to unfurl their flags. These should be in full display by the weekend. The photo above shows the only…
Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) is one of the earliest Smoky Mountains wildflowers. The pictures above and below were taken on March 8th along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail. On that day Hepatica was the only one of the wildflowers to be seen on the trail! Hepatica is a member of the buttercup family and comes in…
False Foxglove (Aureolaria laevigata) is an early autumn wildflower that blooms in September. It seems to be especially attractive to bumble bees, and on early morning walks there is always a loud buzzing as I pass by the cheerful bright yellow foxgloves. The bumble bees will stuff themselves way down inside the blossom, like the…
In Greek mythology, the goddess Astraea wept as she ascended into the heavens to become the constellation Virgo. Where her tears touched the Earth, Asters sprouted. Wildflowers of the Aster family brighten up the landscape in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the autumn season. You can see them everywhere, along roadsides and trails….
Sneezeweed, or Bitterweed (Helenium amarum) is a common and pretty roadside summer wildflower. If cows eat this plant, their milk will taste bitter, giving the plant one of it’s common names. From the name Sneezeweed, you might assume a summer allergy problem. The name actually comes from Native Americans practice of using the dried flower…
Pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii) favors wet areas like seeps and stream banks. The image above was taken along the Clingman’s Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains where water was draining from the steep bank above it. The botanical name Chelone derives from the Greek word for turtle. If you examine the bloom closely, it…
False Dragonhead (Physostegia viginiana) is also called the Obedient Plant. Notice the way the flower buds line up perfectly in a column. If you twist the bloom, it will stay put, being obedient. For this reason, and because they are long-lasting, the plant is often cultivated for cut flower arrangements. False Dragonhead blooms from July-October,…
Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata) is a large, bushy plant with many small flowers. It favors fields, roadsides, and open woods. The picture above was taken along the Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The image picture was in the Greenbrier section along Porters Creek Trail. Look for Flowering Spurge in…
We’ll spend this week catching up on our review of the summer wildflowers found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Pale Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) is also known as Pale Touch-Me-Not. This is a large plant, up to six feet, favoring moist, shady wooded areas. The name Jewelweed refers to its habit of accumulating water…
Smooth Creeping Bush Clover (Lespedeza repens) is a trailing, ground-hugging, member of the pea family that adds a beautiful accent to the dry woods of summer. The pictures here were taken along Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Please stop in and visit me to see the…
If you drive into some of the less traveled areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, such as Greenbrier or Tremont, eventually the road turns to gravel, and in summer you will start to see large quantities of butterflies. So many that sometimes it’s hard to keep from running them over. The swallowtail above…
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is a tall, single-stalk summer wildflower, blooming during late-summer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It favors moist streambanks and roadsides. The pictures here were taken along the Greenbrier Road. The Latin name siphilitica refers to the use of this plant as a treatment for syphilis. Please stop in…
Southern Harebell (Campanula divaricata) inhabits dry, rocky slopes, trailside or roadside. The blooming period in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is from July to October. Unless you are carefully examining your surroundings, you may miss this delicate beauty. The plant is a foot or two tall, with tiny light blue blooms raining down from…
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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