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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
There are four varieties of Phacelias in the Smoky Mountains, three of them in the photos on this page. By far the most well-know is the Fringed Phacelia that blankets the hillsides in early spring, as in the photos at the bottom of the page. Astounding displays of...