Pennywort (Obolaria virginica) is a diminutive wildflower that can easily be overlooked among the fallen leaves in the Smoky Mountains forests. There is a nice colony of them at the start of the Schoolhouse Gap Trail, just to the left, blooming in mid April.
Look for groups of these tiny plants with their green, waxy leaves and pale flowers. Pennywort is among those strange plants that get most of the nutrients without photosynthesis. In this case it is a fungus in the roots of the plant that digests decaying matter.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
