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.
Beaked Violet (Viola rostrata) is an April blooming wildflower in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See the beak? It’s an exaggerated protrusion from the flower’s lower petal. There are many varieties of violets in the Smokies, but this one is unique because of the beak. It is also called Longspurred Violet.
Like all violets, this one likes moist woods, roadsides and trailsides. It is not common in the Smokies, but should be easy to find on the Porters Creek Trail or the Chestnut Top Trail in late March and early April. The photo below was taken along the Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier area of the Smoky Mountains.
Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) is a quiet and reserved April wildflower of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Like so many of the early April bloomers, this one can be found along the Chestnut Top Trail.
Look very low to the ground for this two-inch plant. You may find it growing in large groups on the forest floor.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is a knee-high woodland wildflower and a member of the same Saxifrage family as Bishops Cap. Both have delicate white blossoms on a tall leafless stalk. The leaves below the blossom stalk are reminiscent of maple leaves, and the entire plant is about a foot tall. In the Smoky Mountains look for Foamflower blooming in April along the Chestnut Top Trail or the Cove Hardwoods Trail. There are also some exceptional stands along the Bud Ogle Nature Trail, where I took the photo at the bottom of the page.
The genus Tiarella translates into “small crown,” as in a tiara. The leaves of foamflower are high in tannin, accounting for its other common name, Coalwort. The plant was used to treat burns and mouthsores.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) is a member of the same plant family as Dutchmens Breeches and Bleeding Heart.It’s an early bloomer that appears in early April.
This spring (2010) a profusion of hundreds of Squirrel Corn plants could be found along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The best way to find either Squirrel Corn or Dutchmens Breeches is to look for the distinctive leaves close to the ground. Look in moist woodlands tucked in close to tree trunks or creek beds.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) is a member of the Sedum family. Mountain legend correlates thriving Stonecrop to the prosperity and health of a homestead.
Identification is easy with the thick rubbery leaves and the black-tipped anthers.
In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park look for Wild Stonecrop clinging to rocky outcrops along the Chestnut Top Trail.
Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) is a delicate beauty that blooms in April in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As seen in the image below, the anthers are dark globes that float above the petals, giving the flower a delicate, jewel-like appearance.
I love the way Bishop’s Cap (Mitella diphylla) adds a splash of accent to a wildflower scene, as in the picture below. It’s not usually the main attraction, but more like the seasonings part of a recipe.
Bishop’s Cap blooms in April and can be found in profusion along the Cove Hardwoods Trail. The name Bishop’s Cap apparently derives from the shape of the seed.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
Fire Pink (Silene viginica) is definitely not pink, but very bright red. The word pink refers to its membership in the pink family, with notches in each of the five flower petals.
This distinctive wildflower blooms in April and can usually be found along the Chestnut Top Trail near Townsend in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
These delicate beauties were photographed along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) blooms in April in the Smokies. It is a member of the Buttercup family, and is easily identified by the distinctive leaves. The photo below was found along the Porters Creek Trail in late March.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
For ten months of the year the Cove Hardwoods Trail is a short unassuming excursion that is part of the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Smoky Mountains. But come April, this trail is transformed into a fairyland of wildflowers. You could hike this area every few days during wildflowers season and see something new each time. It’s an absolute bonanza for photos. While there are other top wildflower trails in the Smoky Mountains, such as Porters Creek in the Greenbrier or Chestnut Top Trail near Townsend, nothing can top Cove Hardwoods for sheer density of wildflowers in such a small area. The display is breathtaking.
In the photos above not only is there a densely packed hillside of White Trillium, there is also a ground-cover of Fringed Phacelia beneath them! What a bargain it is to spend some time walking among this display on a gentle spring day. Below is a similar super-sized group of Yellow Trillium found nearby.
On a hike a few days ago I found the Trillium above, the Fringed Phacelia, hundreds of perfect Squirrel Corn specimens, Bishops Cap, Spring Beauty, Bleeding Heart, Rue Anemone, Toothwort … too many to recall.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountains landscape photos at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN. If you are a Facebook user, you can get my daily Smoky Mountains news and photos by becoming a fan of the William Britten Photography Facebook Page.
Squawroot (Conopholis americana) is an odd little Smoky Mountains wildflower that looks mostly like a corncob. You have to get down to the ground and look very closely to see the tiny flowers. There is nothing green here, no leaves, for Squawroot is actually a parasite that feeds off the roots of oak trees. It is a member of the Broomrape family, which are all parasitic. Squawroot is enjoyed by bears, and also was gathered as food by the Cherokees, giving this unusual wildflower its name.
The photo above was taken along the Kanati Fork Trail in late April, where there were dozens of Squawroot popping out of the ground. The specimen below was found on the Chestnut Top Trail, which is one of the premier wildflower trails in April.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountains Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum) is an attractive and unique Smoky Mtn wildflower. Supposedly the bloom is lemon scented, but I can’t vouch for that. This yellow variety is very similar to the Maroon Trillium, with its erect bloom and mottled leaves.
The plant is relatively large and easy to spot, and it often grows in large communities. You might look for it along the Cove Hardwoods Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The photo above was taken in the White Oak Sinks area, with a beautiful display of Creeping Phlox behind the Trillium.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mtn Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN. The Gallery is located in Morning Mist Village.
Catesby’s Trillium (Trillium catesbaei) is one of my favorite Smoky Mtn wildflowers. The bloom is similar to White Trillium, and it also can be found in white, pink and red. However, the Catesby’s Trillium bloom hangs down below the familiar three leaves of the plant rather than the erect habit of the White Trillium. Also, Catesby is smaller and daintier than the White.
This is one of the rare ones in this family, found more on the western side of the Great Smoky Mountains, such as along Schoolhouse Gap Trail in April. I have not seen Catesby Trillium growing in the large groups that are characteristic of White Trillium.
It’s trillium week here at William Britten Photography in Gatlinburg, TN.
First up is the common White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). This is the species that you will see carpeting the hillsides along the Newfound Gap Road or along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The white bloom may fade to pink as the flower ages, as seen in the picture to the left.
White Trillium is a big, showy variety that can grow up to 18 inches high. It grows in large communities, and is easy to spot populating moist hillsides of the Smokies.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.
