Wildflowers of the Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to over 1,500 different species of flowering plants—more than any other North American National Park, earning it the nickname of the "Wildflower National Park".[1] Every spring in late April, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the site of the week-long annual spring wildflower pilgrimage [2] to celebrate this diversity. The park is also the site of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory [3] to inventory all the living organisms in the park. This article lists some of the Wildflowers of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, current threats and resources for further information.“A group of flowers known as spring ephemerals begins the yearly show. Ephemerals are so named because they appear above ground only in late winter and early spring, then flower, fruit, and die back within a short two month period. They emerge from February through April, and are gone (dormant) by May or June.” “ The park is famous for its displays mountain laurel, rhododendron and flame azaleas.” [4]

Threats

Plant Poaching

Plant poaching is a major threat in the park. In particular, ginseng is a popular target. Removal of specimens such as trilliums and orchids for private gardens is also threatening these populations.[5]

Invasive Species

Introduced forest pests, such as the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Emerald Ash Borer are a major threat to the flora of the national parks, targeting over-story species such as the Eastern Hemlock and Ash trees.[6][7] Several invasive plant species such as wild garlic mustard, kudzu, and multiflora rose can also cause harm by out-competing and displacing native species from the park.[8] Feral hogs are another major invasive threat to the park, as they are habitat generalists that will eat just about anything, including the roots and foliage of the park's wildflowers.[9]

Pollution

Within the Great Smoky Mountains, air pollution is a well documented threat to both the foliage of the park and its visitors, contributing to stream acidification, ozone symptoms on plants, and high haze levels.[10]

Examples
ImageLatin nameCommon names
AquilegiaGranny's Bonnet or Columbine
Asclepias exaltata Poke Milkweed
Asclepias hirtella Tall Green Milkweed or Prairie Milkweed
Asclepias quadrifoliaFourleaf Milkweed or Whorled Milkweed
Carex plantagineaSeersucker Sedge or Plaintainleaf Sedge
Caulophyllum thalictroidesBlue Cohosh
ChamaeliriumBlazing-Star, Devil's Bit, False Unicorn, Fairy Wand, or Helonias
Chelone lyonii Pink Turtleheads, Red Turtleheads, Lyon's Turtleheads, or Appalachian Turtleheads
Claytonia virginicaEastern Spring Beauty, Virginia Spring Beauty, or Fairy Spud
Clintonia alleghaniensisWhite Clintonia, Clinton's Lilly, or Speckled Wood Lily
Conopholis americanaSquawroot
Corunastylis ciliata Small Purple-fringed Orchid or Fringed Midge Orchid
Cymophyllus fraserianusFraser's Sedge
CypripedioideaeYellow Lady Slippers
Cypripedium acaule Pink Lady Slippers
Delphinium tricorneDwarf Larkspur
Dicentra canadensisSquirrel Corn
Dicentra cucullariaDutchman's Breeches
Dicentra eximiaBleeding Heart
Diervilla sessilifoliaSouthern Bush Honeysuckle
Diphylleia cymosaUmbrella Leaf
Dodecatheon meadiaShooting Stars
Epigaea repensMayflower or Trailing Arbutus
Euonymus obovatusRunning Strawberry Bush
Hexastylis arifoliaLittle Brown Jug
Hexastylis virginicaVirginia Heartleaf
Iris cristataDwarf Crested Iris or Crested Iris
Lilium superbum Turk's Cap, Turban Lily, Swamp Lily, Lily Royal, or American Tiger Lily
Lobelia Cardinalis Red Cardinal Flower, Red Lobelia, Cardinal Lobelia, Slinkweed, Cardinal Flower, Scarlet Lobelia, Great Lobelia, or Indian Tobacco
Lycopus americanusWater Horehound
Maianthemum racemosumTreacleberry or Feathery False Lily of the Valley
Micranthes micranthidifoliaLettuceleaf Saxifrag, Branch Lettuce, or Brook Lettuce
Mitchella repensPartridge Berry or Squaw Vine
Monarda didymaBee Balm
Monotropsis odorataSweet Pinesap or Pygmy Pipes
Orchis Spectabilis Showy Orchis
Osmorhiza claytoniiClayton's Sweetroot
Oxalis montanaMountain Woodsorrel, Wood Shamrock, Sours, or White Woodsorrel
Panax quinquefoliusAmerican Ginseng
Penstemon canescensEastern Gray Beardtongue
Phacelia bipinnatifidaFernleaf Phacelia or Spotted Phacelia
Phacelia fimbriataFringed Phacelia
Phacelia purshiiMiami Mist
Prosartes lanuginosaYellow Mandarin or Yellow Fairybells
Prosartes maculataYellow Mandarin, Spotted Mandarin, or Nodding Mandarin
Rhododendron calendulaceumFlame Azalea
Rugelia nudicaulisRugel's Indian Plantain or Rugel's Ragwort
Sanicula smalliiSmall's Blacksnakeroot
SedumStonecrop
Stachys clingmaniiClingman's Hedgenettle
Synandra hispidulaGuyandotte Beauty
Thalictrum dioicumQuicksilver-weed
Thalictrum thalictroidesRue Anemone
Trillium catesbaeiBashful Wake-robin or Rosy Wake-robin
Trillium luteumYellow Wake-robin or Yellow Trillium
Trillium vaseyiSweet Wake-robin or Sweet Beth
Viola appalachiensisAppalachian Blue Violet, Appalachian Violet, or Henry's Violet
Viola pedataBird's-foot Violet, Bird's-foot Violet, or Mountain Pansy
Viola rotundifoliaRoundleaf Yellow Violet
Xanthorhiza simplicissimaYellowroot

See also

Resources
  • Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers: When & Where to Find Them (Paperback)by Carlos C. Campbell, Aaron J. Sharp, Robert W. Hutson, William F. Hutson, Windy Pines Pub,(April 1996),ISBN 0-9643417-3-5
  • Wildflowers Of Tennessee, The Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians (Paperback)by Dennis Horn and Tavia Cathcart, Lone Pine Publishing (2005), ISBN 1-55105-428-0

References
  1. "Wildflowers". Great Smokey Mountains National Park. January 27, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. "Home". springwildflowerpilgrimage.org.
  3. "All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) - Great Smoky Mountains National Park". Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  4. Gatlinburg, Mailing Address: 107 Park Headquarters Road; Us, TN 37738 Phone:436-1200 Contact. "Wildflowers - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  5. "Threats to Wildflowers - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)".
  6. Abella, Scott (2014). "Impacts and Management of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in National Parks of the Eastern United States". Southeastern Naturalist. 13 (Special Issue 6): 16–45 – via Ebsco.
  7. Poland, Therese; McCullough, Deborah (2006). "Emerald Ash Borer: Invasion of the Urban Forest and the Threat to North America's Ash Resource". Journal of Forestry. April/May (2006): 188–124.
  8. "Non-native Invasive Plants". Great Smoky Mountains National Park. July 18, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  9. "Non-native species". Great Smoky Mountains National Park. November 19, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  10. Sullivan, Timothy (2017). Air pollution and its impact on U.S. national parks. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 113–150. ISBN 9781498765183.
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