Narrowleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)

 
Smooth, leafy perennial 12-36" tall and much branched above. Leaves are opposite, linear, 1-2" long and about 0.12" wide, entire, nearly sessile, generally not hoary (white-haired). This plant lacks the strong, minty fragrance. Flowers are white, 0.2-0.3" long, entire, 2-lipped corolla with numerous compact flower heads 0.2-0.4" wide, borne in showier clusters than most other mountain mints. Bloom time: June-July. Found in meadows, prairies, and pastures throughout Eastern U.S. and TN. Medicinally, the leaves of many mountain mints are used in poultices to treat headaches, and as a tea to treat fevers, colds and coughs. Many hikers and backpackers know that a quick way to make refreshing and calming tea is to place the leaves into hot water and let them steep for a few minutes prior to drinking.

Prairie Mimosa (Desmanthus illinoensis)

 
Erect perennial with clustered stems from 1-4" or more tall that arise from a taproot. Leaves are alternate an bipinnately compound and have numerous oblong leaflets from 0.06 to 0.2" long. Small white flowers are borne on o.5" rounded heads. Dark thin pods to 1" long are strongly curved and twisted together into a distinctive rounded cluster. Bloom time June-July and found in dry soils, fields, barrens, cedar glades. The genus name is from the
Greek "desme" meaning a bundle and "anthos" meaning flower.

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Colonial, stout, erect, perennial from 3-7' tall, usually un-branched and hairy. Leaves are opposite, stalked, oblong to ovate to elliptic, hairy beneath from 4-6" long. Umbels are dense, many-flowered, often numerous, terminal and lateral. Flowers are purple to greenish-white, horns same length as the hoods. Found in fields, roadsides, and waste places. Bloom time: June-August. Monarch butterfly larvae eat the plant's cardiac glycosides which make them toxic to birds and
other predators.

Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

 
Wild parsnip is a member of the Umbelliferae (parsnip) family. Rosettes grow close to the ground and bear leaves averaging six inches in height. The plant has a long, thick taproot, which is edible. Flowering plants produce a single, thick stem that contains hundreds of yellow umbellate flowers. The lateral flowers often overtop the terminal flowers. Depending on the habitat and growing conditions, individual flowering plants range to over four feet in height. Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, branched, and have saw-toothed edges. Each leaf has 5-15 ovate to oblong leaflets with variable toothed edges and deep lobes.

Wild parsnip can be confused with prairie parsley (Polytaenia nuttallii), a native prairie species. Its flowers and leaves resemble those of wild parsnip. Comparatively, flowers of the prairie parsley plant are light-yellow, sparse, and typically found at the end of the stem. The leaves are pinnately compound like those of the wild parsnip, but are oblong with few teeth.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Wild parsnip is tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including dry, mesic, and wet-mesic prairies; oak openings; and calcareous fens. It is shade-intolerant and prefers sunny conditions.

LIFE HISTORY AND EFFECTS OF INVASION: Wild parsnip can cause phytophotodermatitis to the skin. If the plant juices come in contact with skin in the presence of sunlight, a rash and/or blistering can occur, as well as skin discoloration that may last several months.

This species reproduces readily from seed. Seeds are fairly large and many are produced on one plant. As a monocarpic perennial, wild parsnip spends one or more years as a basal rosette. When conditions are favorable, it flowers, produces seed, and dies. Look for the large, coarse, flower spikes and yellow flowers from the first of June to the middle of July (although some plants may continue flowering through late summer). Optimal growing conditions apparently stimulate an increase in flowering. Apparently seeds take at least three weeks from flowering to become viable.

Wild parsnip slowly invades an area in waves following initial infestation. Once the population builds, it spreads rapidly. This species is an aggressive, Eurasian weed that frequently invades and modifies a variety of open habitats.

Field Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis)

Weedy, freely-branched, taprooted annual to 3 feet tall. The leaves are ovate to lance-ovate in outline, 1 to 3 times pinnate, the lower leaflets usually stalked. The leaflets are linear-lanceolate, coarsely toothed, the central one largest and to 2" long. Umbels are compound, terminal and lateral, on stalks to 8" long. Umbellet stalks usually 5 to 9, ascending or spreading, to about 1" long. The flowers are white. Bloom time June-July. Introduced from Europe and established in much of the U.S.

Common Dodder, Love Vine (Cuscuta gronovii)

Slender parasitic herb with pinkish-yellow to orange or white, glabrous, twining stems. It is attached to the host plant with an intrusive specialized structure, through which the parasite extracts nourishment from the host. Tangles of the twining stems eventually may cover low-growing vegetation. The stems have scale-like leaves and are without chlorophyll. The white bell-shaped flowers are very small 0.10-0.16" wide and occur in dense clusters. Found throughout TN and bloom August-October.

Common Plantain (Plantago major)

 























Small flowers massed in a narrow, cylindrical, greenish-white spike rising from a rosette of broad, strongly ribbed basal leaves. Flowers 1/16" long. The plant grows 6-18" tall (see left photo). Flowering: June-October. Found: waste places, fields, roadsides and lawns.

English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

 























Fibrous-rooted perennial, 6-25" tall with a stout root crown. Leaves in a basal rosette, narrowly lance-olate to oblanceolate, 4-12" long, only 1/2 as wide. Flowers whitish, translucent, 4 corolla lobes spreading to reflexed, about 0.8" long with protruding styles and stamens. Flowers open first at the bottom of the dense spike which may be 3" long at maturity. Buds at the top give the spike a rounded, conical appearance. Bloom time May-October. Introduced from Eurasia, now a cosmopolitan weed of lawns and waste places. The plant is edible and the very young leaves are rich in vitamin A, C and iron. Medicinally, all of the plantains contain a high level of tannin, which causes the leaves to have an astringent property, making them useful for treating skin conditions such as sores, cuts, inflammation and bites.

Common Evening Nightshade, Black Nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum)

 
Erect annual to 24" tall with smooth stems and leaves. Flowers are white or pale violet to 0.4" wide, 5 pointed lobes, yellow anthers united in a central cone. Bloom time May-October. A cosmopolitan weed of disturbed habitats. The plant is also called the Deadly Nightshade, Blueberry, Bonewort, Morel and Stubbleberry. The leaves and unripe berries are poisonous.

Lopseed (Phryma leptostachya)

Perennial herb 15-36" tall with hairy, 4-angled, purplish stems. Leaves opposite, simple, ovate 2-6" long and 1/2 as wide, petioled, hairy serrate. Flowers are small, pale purple, pink or white about 0.25" long, upper lip straight and notched, lower lip longer and 3-lobed. Bloom time June-August. Found in rich, mesic woods. The flowers open 2 at a time, traveling up the stem.

Dove's Foot Cranebill (Geranium molle)

 
Naturalized annual hairy weed, 8-20" tall mostly spreading and branched from the base. Leaves basal and palmately 5-9 lobed, shallowly toothed at the apex, 1-2" across, on long, hairy petioles that appear attached to the center of the leaf stem. Flowers are numerous and bright pink with 5 deeply notched petals that are 0.25" long. Bloom time April-September. Found in pastures and disturbed habitats.

Prostrate Spurge, Spotted Sandmat (Chamaesyce maculata)

 
Prostrate annual weed, often forming flat, circular mats 12-24" across. Stems hairy, usually dark red, sap milky. Leaves are opposite, sessile, oblong about 0.4" long, dark green with purple blotches, minute inconspicuous teeth on margins. Flowers are small, inconspicuous each with 4-5 white or pink petal-like attachments below the single spherical ovary, borne in an involucral inflorescense. Bloom time June-October. Found in gardens, lawns, and waste places. This plant is sometimes called Creeping Spurge and Milk Purslane.

Virginia Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana)

Annual with branched and spreading stems, 8-32" long, hairy along the stem. Leaves opposite, thin, narrowly elliptic, 1-2" long with linear stipules to 0.2" long. Flowers are trumpet-shaped, white and 0.4" wide, 4 narrow spreading lobes, narrow tube about 0.4" long, calyx has 2 linear sepals, style has 2 thread-like stigmas, flowers usually solitary from the leaf axils. Bloom time June-August found on wet ground ditches, and shorelines. This plant can become a troublesome weed as it forms dense mats on low, damp grounds.

Field Garlic, Wild Onion (Allium vineale)

 












 Perennial herb, with the odor of garlic. Leaves: slender, glaucous. The flower stalks is solid, slender from 12-40" tall with few to several sheathing leaves and is terminated by an umbel of all bulblets or all flowers, or a mixture of both. The flowers are few to numerous , small, urn-shaped, red-purple to lavender to greenish or white. from 0.12-0.2" long on stalks from 0.4-1" long. The inner stamens have 2 white hair-like appendages that protrude from the corolla. Found throughout TN in disturbed sites, lawns, fields and pastures. Bloom time May-June. The plant is a native of Europe and is now well established as a noxious weed.

Osage-orange, Hedge-apple, Bodark (Maclura pomifera)

A medium-sized and spiny tree with short, often crooked trunk to 50' high. The leaves are 2 1/2-5" long and 1 1/2 - 3" wide. They are narrowly ovate, long-pointed, not toothed. The fruit shown here is 3 1/2-5" in diameter and is a heavy yellow-green ball, that is hard and fleshy. The fruit matures in the Fall and begins falling (don't find yourself under this tree when the fruit falls!). The native range of this tree is uncertain, but is believed to be SW Arkansas to E. Oklahoma and Texas and widely planted and naturalized in eastern and northwestern states. Rows of these spiny plants served as fences in the grassland plains before the introduction of barbed wire. The name "Bodark" is from the French bois d'are, meaning bow wood, referring to the Indian's use of the wood for archery bows. It is also used for fenceposts. Early settlers extracted a yellow dye for cloth from the root bark. The fruit is eaten by livestock which has given rise to yet another common name, "Horse-apple".

Pawpaw, Pawpaw-apple, False-banana (Asimina triloba)

A shrub or small tree that forms colonies from root sprouts with straight trunk, spreading branches and large leaves 7-10" long and 3-5" wide. The fruit 3-5" long and 1-1 1/2" in diameter is berry-like and slightly curved, suggesting a small banana. It contains edible soft yellowish pulp with a flavor of custard. Found in moist soils, especially flood plains, in the understory of hardwood forests. The Pawpaw is the northernmost New World representative of a chiefly tropical family including the tropical fruits Annona, Custard-apple, Sugar-apple and Soursop. The wild fruit was once harvested, but the supply has decreased greatly due to the clearing of forests. The small crop is consumed by wildlife, mostly opossums, squirrels, raccoons and birds.

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

 



A coarse smooth perennial from 3 to 10 feet tall that is branched above. The leaves from 4-12" long are alternate, entire, lance-oblong to ovate on stalks from 0.4 to 2" long. The flowers are 0.25" wide and without petals, but have 5 greenish sepals and 5-30 stamens. Fruits are purple and juicy. Bloom time May-September and found in fields, fence rows and disturbed areas. The young leaves are eaten as a spring green, after cooking with 2 changes of water. American Indians used berry tea for rheumatism, arthritis and dysentery. The older leaves, stems, roots and seeds are poisonous.

Mayweed, Stinking Chamomile, Dog Fennel (Anthemis cotula)

An ill-smelling bushy annual from 4-36" tall. Leaves
are 0.8-2.5: long and are alternate, 2-3 times finely-divided into narrow linear lobes. Solitary flowers are borne on long stalks from the upper leaf axils, and have a yellow disk flower 0.2-0.4" wide with 10-16 white ray flowers 0.2 to 0.45" long. The ray flowers are sterile. Bloom time May-August. Found in fields, waste places and disturbed areas.

False Nutsedge (Cyperus strigosus)

A course, tufted short-lived perennial herb which is 6-24" tall (occasionally taller in robust plants). The stems are smooth and sharply triangular. The leaves are basal, numerous, linear 0.1-0.4" wide and equal in length to the stems. The flowers are several and stalked cylindric spikes arranged in a terminal umbel. Each spike is composed of 5-15 straw-colored flowering spikelets to 1" long. Bloom time July-October. Found in open, wet places and shorelines. The genus name Cyperus is the Greek word for "sedge" and strigosus means "with stiff bristels". The plants in this are sometimes referred to as umbrella sedges. To help tell the difference between rushes, grasses, and sedges, remember the rhyme about the stems, "Rushes are round. Sedges have edges. Grasses have nodes".

Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica)

This wildflower is a member of the Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae)

 

For more information about this wildflower, Click Here.

 

Round-Fruited St. Johnswort (Hypericum sphaerocarpum)

An errect perennial to 30" tall having woody stems that are clustered and often rhizomatous. The leaves are linear-oblong, opposite and narrowly elliptic 1.2 to 2.8" long with evident lateral veins. The flowers are yellow having 5 petals 0.2-0.35" long, 45-85 stamens. The flowers are numerous in a compact, much-branched inflorescence. Bloom time June-August. Found in cedar glades and barrens. The species is also called Roundseed St. Johnswort. The plant is visited by short and long-tongued bees which eat the pollen.

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Wild bergamot, known by many other common names, is a popular and showy perennial. Clusters of lavender, pink or white flowers, looking like ragged pompoms, bloom atop 2-5 ft., open-branched stems.

This showy perennial, frequently cultivated, has aromatic leaves used to make mint tea and is used to make Earl Grey tea. Oil from the leaves was formerly used to treat respiratory ailments. The leaves smell minty.

Linnaeus named the genus Monarda in honor of a 16th century Spanish physician and botanist, Nicolas Bautista Monardes (1493-1588). Monardes never went to the Americas but was able to study medicinal plants in Spain because Spain controlled navigation and commerce from the New World.

Fistulosa means tubular.

Southern Showy Skullcap (Scutellaria pseudoserrata)

This wildflower is a member of the Mint Family (Lamiaceae).

The skullcap (scullcap) is a North American perennial. It grows in wet places in Canada and the northern and the eastern United States. Its generic name is derived from the Latin scutella (little dish), from the lid of the calyx. The fibrous, yellow root system supports a branching stem 30 to 90 cm tall, with opposite, ovate, and serrate leaves. The root is a short creeper which supports hairy, square, and branched stems from 15 to 45 cm tall, or in small plants, nearly simple, with opposite leaves, heart-shaped at the base, 1 to 6 cm long with scalloped or toothed margins. The blue to lavender flowers are in racemes and grow from the leaf axils. The flowers are tube shaped, hooded, with two lips, the upper lip being the hood and the lower lip having two shallow lobes. Flowering generally occurs from May to August. Above ground plant parts are collected during summer around bloom time, dried in shade and stored for later use as medicinal herb. Skullcaps are now becoming popular in southern gardens owing to their drought tolerance as well as bright and showy blooms.


Skullcap is a powerful medicinal herb and it is used in alternative medicine as an anti-inflammatory, abortifacient, antispasmodic, slightly astringent, emmenagogue, febrifuge, nervine, sedative, and a strong tonic. Skullcap is also utilized in treating a wide range of nervous conditions including epilepsy, insomnia, hysteria, anxiety, delerium tremens, and withdrawal from barbiturates and tranquilizers. A medicinal infusion of this plant is used to promote menstruation. It should not be given to a pregnant woman since it can induce miscarriage. Scutellaria infusion is also used for treating neuralgia, headaches in general as well as those arising from incessant coughing, without any unpleasant side effects. Normally, it should be used with extra caution since an overdose of this medicinal herb can cause giddiness, stupor, confusion, and twitching.


Skullcap is well known among the Cherokee and other Native American tribes, as a strong emmenagogue and medicinal herb for females. It is used in some tribes as a ceremonial plant to induct young girls into womanhood. Native Americans used skullcap to promote menstruation, and it was reputed to be effective against rabies, hence some of its common names. Cherokee women use skullcap to maintain healthy menstrual cycles, and a root decoction is taken after the birth of a child to stimulate the reproductive system. Skullcap is also used in purification ceremonies if menstrual taboos are broken. The Iroquois use an infusion of the root to keep the throat clear. Other Native American tribes use closely related species as bitter tonics for the kidneys. The herb is used to induce visions and as a ceremonial plant to be smoked as tobacco by some Native Indians.

Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis)

This wildflower is a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae).

The flower of this plant differs from other coneflowers in that the rays spread or are upturned as opposed to reflexed and the color is richer than most other coneflowers. It sends a long tap root down into cracks to find soil and moisture below the rocks of the cedar glades where it lives.

The Tennessee coneflower, a perennial wildflower thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1968, was one of the first designated endangered plants. Found in a three-county area of north-central Tennessee, it grows in openings, or glades, in red cedar forest on thin soil overlays. Coneflower populations are restricted to the area near Nashville where suburban development is rapidly consuming farmland, forest and the glades where the coneflower lives (and could be restored).

Coneflower conservation efforts have achieved many successes: there are over 100,000 plants now found on less than 300 acres of land. Many colonies have been acquired and are now on protected state lands and a new colony has been established on federal land. However, other glade species that face similar threats have not been so lucky--species like the Spring Creek bladderpod and Pyne's ground plum are far from recovery.

This photo was taken in the Couchville Cedar Glade. Couchville Cedar Glade is a 122-acre natural area in Davidson and Wilson Counties and is contiguous with the east boundary of Long Hunter State Park. Couchville supports one of the largest known and best quality populations of the federally endangered Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis). Couchville also provides one of the finest examples of a glade-barrens complex and protects many rare plant species. The glades are distributed where limestone outcropping and shallow soils limit growth of perennial plants and support annual species like leavenworthia, sporobolus, and sedum. The barrens species, that also includes Tennessee coneflower, occur where soils increase and grasses like little bluestem and side oats grama become dominant. The glades and barrens interface forming a complex. There are small woodland patches surrounding the glade-barrens complex with some shrubby vegetation present in the barrens. There are also some seasonal wet areas where small sedge openings occur and where an ephemeral stream habitat supports a small colony of the federally listed endangered leafy prairie clover (Dalea foliosa).