Calico Aster - Close-up

Lion's Foot; Prenanthes serpentaria

Aster Family This is a very late blooming woodland plant. Note the long pistils and anthers on the blooming flowers. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Oak Ridge Greenways, Frozen Head SP

Pale-flowered Leaf-cup; Polymnia canadensis

Aster Family I found this plant growing at Norris Dam State Park in early September. It grows in large groups at the edges of the woods. The leaves are very large. Perennial Where seen: Norris Dam SP, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warrior's Path SP

White Turtlehead; Chelone glabra

Snapdragon Family These odd-looking flowers like to live near water, especially near streambanks. They are in the Snapdragon Family. There is a dark pink-flowered Red Turtlehead too. I got a laugh when I noticed the lower flower lip moving as if it were "talking," a bee was deep inside the flower! Note the bumblebee's head peeking out from the opening of the flower. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountain NP, Frozen Head SP, Warriors' Path SP (story)

Heath Aster; Aster ericoides

Aster Family Rare - Threatened in TN I found this aster blooming at the Haw Ridge Greenway in Oak Ridge in September. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Haw Ridge Greenway

Copy of Aster Cream-colored

Pale-flowered Leafcup

close-up

Toothed White-topped Aster; Seriocarpus asteroides

Aster Family There are many different kinds of white asters! I found this one blooming at Piney Falls SNA. Perennial Where seen: Piney Falls SNA

White Snakeroot; Ageratina altissima

Aster Family If cattle eat this plant their milk may be tainted with a toxin, called tremetol which causes "milk sickness." This plant was responsible for the death of Abraham Lincoln's mother. Grazing animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, and pigs can be poisoned by White Snakeroot. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Cherokee National Forest, Warriors' Path SP {Formerly known as Eupatorium rugosum}

Flower-of-an-Hour; Hibiscus trionum

Mallow Family The flower is not completely open, I took this picture at 10:00 a.m. and it had already begun to close. These cream-colored flowers do not last long, they live up to their common name! This flower was photographed in mid-September. Annual Where seen: University of Tennessee Arboretum

Calico Aster; Aster lateriflorus

Aster Family Calico Aster gets its name from the different colors of the disk flowers. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP

Copy of Lions Foot1

Bur or Star Cucumber; Sicyos angulatus*

Moonseed Family I found this plant blooming along the Tellico River in Tellico Plains in mid-October. This plant is monoecious. The plant is a woody, climbing vine. The flowers will later develop round, black fruits. Annual or Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tellico Plains, Warriors' Path SP