Little Brown Jug (Hexastylis arifolia)

Photographic Location: Great Smoky Mountains

I have been looking for this plant every where I go. Apparently you have to get a little bit higher in altitude than here in middle Tennessee. I saw an abundance of this on our trip to the Smokies.

We have a lot of its cousin, Wild Ginger, but I have not seen Little Brown Jug in middle TN. Little Brown Jug is the most widespread species in this genus. Its flowers are often hidden in leaf litter on the ground.

For more information on this wildflower, Click Here.

Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens)

Photographic Location: Great Smoky Mountains

Judy and I just got back from a trip to the Smokies. LOTS of wildflowers blooming. This one I was especially happy to find. I had found it once before but the flower was past its prime. 

With its yellow "moccasin" and slightly curled brown sepals, this orchid has a scattered distribution in the Smokies. Growing on moist, rich slopes from 900 to 3,000 feet, it reaches a height of 12 to 18 inches. It blooms in May. If the pouch is less than 1 inch long, it is the small yellow lady's-slipper (var. parviflorum). A relative, the pink lady's-slipper, is locally more abundant but still rare. These species are also known as MOCCASIN FLOWER.

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Wood Vetch (Vicia caroliniana)

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park

Fabaceae: Bean Family
For more information about this plant, Click Here.

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park

   

Spotted Mandarin (Prosartes maculata)

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park in Middle Tennessee

Family: Lily

For more information about this plant, Click Here.

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park

  

Birdfoot Violet (Viola pedata)

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park

Violaceae (Violet family)

 For more information about this plant, Click Here.
   

Photographic Location: Standing Stone State Park

Standing Stone State Park

I hope everyone got to visit one of our state parks here in Tennessee this last weekend. A lot of them were having their spring nature celebrations. Judy and I were lucky and were invited to Standing Stone State Park's 12th Annual Spring Nature Rally where I led two wildflower/photography field trips. I did my best to share my knowledge of wildflower photography and wildflower identification with two great groups of visitors. I really want to thank Rangers Stevie Plumlee and Shawn Hughes for the invitation. We hope to make this an annual event for Judy and me.

Standing Stone State Park is one of Judy's and my favorite parks. It is a beautiful place with spectacular wildflower displays. They have many trails that afford majestic views of what nature has to offer. The trails are easy. One of the best trails is to just walk the road that leads to Overton Lodge. The sides of the road are covered with many varieties of Tennessee native wildflowers.

 

Just to name a very few of the flowers you may see are: (Actaea pachypoda) Doll's Eyes, (Anemonella thalictroides) Rue Anemone, (Antennaria plantaginifolia) Plantain-Leaf Pussytoes, (Antennaria solitaria) Solitary Pussytoes, (Caulophyllum thalictroides) Blue Cohosh, (Claytonia virginica) Spring Beauty, (Dentaria multifida) Fine-Leaf Toothwort, (Erythronium americanum) Yellow Trout Lily, (Frasera caroliniensis) American Columbo, (Iris cristata) Dwarf Crested Iris, (Mertensia virginica) Virginia Bluebell, (Sedum ternatum) Mountain Stonecrop, (Trillium sulcatum) Southern Red Trillium, (Trillium recurvatum) Prairie Trillium, and (Trillium luteum) Yellow Trillium only to name a few. I took pictures of over 40 different species of wildflowers on this trip alone. Park naturalist Jonathan Williams was very helpful with identification and facts about the native wildflowers. Ranger Stevie Plumlee, who has become a great friend of mine, also accompanied me on several hikes to provide interesting information about the native wildflowers.

At the end of the day after all the events were over, we were treated with a great supper of Ranger Travis Stover's famous smoked Boston Butt pulled pork BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixins including some of Travis's great homemade slaw! Travis, I am still waiting for your slaw recipe!

Judy and I brought our camper and stayed the weekend. We have camped there numerous times and it is one of our go-to places. There are a lot of camper/rv sites with water and electric hookups.  Alli Baltimore (engaged to Travis) will great you when you arrive and get you all fixed up. Let's not forget Ranger Chris Cole, who was a great help to me when we arrived.

Judy and I thank you very much and, who knows, we may be back for fall pictures! Over the next few days I will be posting some wildflower pictures from this trip.

photos, by George

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Photographic Location: Sycamore Ridge Ranch in Middle Tennessee

Fabaceae: Bean Family

    It typically grows to 6–9 m (20–30 ft) tall with a 8–10 m (26–33 ft) spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches. A 10-year-old tree will generally be around 5 m (16 ft) tall. The bark is dark in color, smooth, later scaly with ridges somewhat apparent, sometimes with maroon patches. The twigs are slender and zigzag, nearly black in color, spotted with lighter lenticels. The winter buds are tiny, rounded and dark red to chestnut in color. The leaves are alternate, simple, and heart shaped with an entire margin, 7–12 cm (3-5 inches) long and wide, thin and papery, and may be slightly hairy below.

    The flowers are showy, light to dark magenta pink in color, 1.5 cm (½ inch) long, appearing in clusters from Spring to early Summer, on bare stems before the leaves, sometimes on the trunk itself. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees such as blueberry bees and carpenter bees. Short-tongued bees apparently cannot reach the nectaries. The fruit are flattened, dry, brown, pea-like pods, 5–10 cm (2-4 inches) long that contain flat, elliptical, brown seeds 6 mm (¼ inch) long, maturing in August to October.

    In some parts of southern Appalachia, green twigs from the eastern redbud are used as seasoning for wild game such as venison and opossum. Because of this, in these mountain areas the eastern redbud is sometimes known as the spicewood tree.

    In the wild, eastern redbud is a frequent native understory tree in mixed forests and hedgerows. It is also much planted as a landscape ornamental plant. The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, for example the Io moth

Small-Flowered Buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)

Photographic Location: Sycamore Ridge Ranch in Middle Tennessee

Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

    Description: This native plant is a biennial or short-lived perennial up to 2' tall that branches occasionally. The green stems are glabrous. The blades of the basal leaves are up to 2" long and 2½" across; they are orbicular-reniform and crenate along the margins. Their petioles are up to 3" long. The lower cauline leaves are up to 2" long and across on petioles up to 1" long; they are often deeply divided into 3 rounded lobes and their margins are crenate. The upper cauline leaves are usually lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong with smooth margins; sometimes they are shallowly lobed with teeth that are crenate or dentate. The blades of the upper cauline leaves are up to 1½" long and they are sessile. All of these leaves are hairless; the cauline leaves alternate along the stems. Each upper stem terminates in 1-3 flowers on individual stalks. Each flower is about ¼" across, consisting of 5 yellow petals, 5 green sepals, a cluster of green carpels, and a ring of stamens with bright yellow anthers. The petals are broadly lanceolate or triangular; they are smaller than the sepals. The sepals become membranous with age and they fall off the flower at about the same time as the petals. The blooming period occurs from mid-spring to early summer and lasts about 1-2 months. The cluster of carpels (immature achenes) elongates to about ¼" in length and becomes ovoid in shape. The small achenes are somewhat flattened and orbicular in shape; their surfaces are shiny when mature and they have very small beaks. The root system consists of a tuft of fibrous roots. This plant spreads by reseeding itself.

    Cultivation: This plant is typically found in partial sunlight, moist to mesic conditions, and a reasonably fertile loam or clay-loam soil. It has few problems with pests and disease.

    Range & Habitat: Small-Flowered Buttercup is a common plant that has been observed in nearly all counties of Tennessee. Habitats include open woodlands, woodland borders, areas along woodland paths, degraded meadows, banks of rivers and ditches, pastures and abandoned fields, edges of yards, vacant lots, grassy areas along railroads and roads, and waste areas. This plant is typically found in disturbed areas and is somewhat weedy.

    Faunal Associations: Ladybird beetles, small bees, Syrphid flies, and other kinds of flies suck nectar from the flowers. Some flies and ladybird beetles feed on the pollen, while some bees collect pollen for their larvae. Ants suck nectar that adheres to the carpels after the petals and sepals fall of the flowers. The Wood Duck and Wild Turkey eat the foliage and seeds of Ranunculus spp. (Buttercups). Some small rodents, including the Eastern Chipmunk and Meadow Vole, eat the seeds, while the Cottontail Rabbit eats the foliage. However, the use of the foliage and seeds as a food source by these animals is rather limited. The foliage contains a blistering agent and is mildly toxic to livestock.

    Comments: Small-Flowered Buttercup is one of the most common Ranunculus spp. in TN. The flowers aren't very showy and this plant is easily overlooked. There are many Ranunculus spp. in the state and they are often hard to tell apart. While attempting to identify Small-Flowered Buttercup, look for lower leaves that are orbicular, kidney-shaped, or deeply 3-lobed with crenate margins, and slender upper leaves with mostly smooth margins. The foliage is usually hairless, although there is an uncommon form of this plant that is finely pubescent. Small-Flowered Buttercup is very similar in appearance to Ranunculus micranthus (also called Small-Flowered Buttercup). To distinguish Ranunculus abortivus from Ranunculus micranthus, it is often necessary to examine the naked receptacles of these two species (the receptacle of the flower is what remains after the carpels, sepals, and petals are removed). The receptacle of Ranunculus abortivus is pubescent, while the receptacle of Ranunculus micranthus is hairless. Another difference is the following: the achenes of Ranunculus abortivus have a shiny surface, while the achenes of Ranunculus micranthus have a dull surface.



Reference: John Hilty
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info